The Flower's Nightmare
by TMNTfan1
Summary: Lilly's summer was supposed to be a time to sit back, relax, and spend time with her boyfriend and wolf, Jake, as well as her 'pack' of friends. However, drama and danger seem all too eager to disrupt that plan. Sequel to Silence of the Flower.
1. Chapter 1

Lilly Fuller laughed, reaching up and ruffling her boyfriend's short, black hair from her perch on his back, his arms wrapped under her legs. Jacob Black laughed with her, trying to duck his head out of her reach and failing. Sea water fell from his hair and dribbled down his face.

Lilly relented, relaxing her weight against Jake's back and resting her cheek against his warm neck. She loved the feeling of his smooth, bare skin against her exposed arms more than she probably should.

The first week of summer had so far been spent hanging out, either just the two of them or the whole pack. Whenever Jake had patrol, which wasn't often now that the redhead was destroyed, Lilly hung out at Emily's and helped her and Kim cook, or they just hung out. The girls had already made plans to have a girly sleepover soon. Lilly had invited Leah, since the she-wolf wasn't quite as volatile anymore, but she declined because, while she liked Lilly well enough that didn't mean she wanted to play nice with her cousin yet.

Now, Lilly and Jake were headed to his house after a day at Second Beach with plans to chill at his place, eat, talk, and watch movies. Jake slowly let Lilly slide to the ground once he was standing on the front porch, opening the door and gesturing her in ahead of him. Lilly smiled at him as she entered the living room.

"Jake? That you?" Billy's voice called from the kitchen.

"Yeah. Me and Lilly." Jake answered, planning on heading to the living room to pick a movie.

"Could you come in here, please?" Billy called, interrupting Jake's plan. He frowned, glancing at Lilly before entering the kitchen to see his dad sitting his wheel chair at the kitchen table, a small pile of mail spread across the table in front of him.

"What's up, dad?" Jake asked carefully, his hand resting on the top of the doorway just an inch or so above his head. If he grew anymore he'd have to duck to fit through any of the doors in his home.

Billy looked warily up at him. "You've got a letter." he announced, holding up a small envelope.

Lilly's brow furrowed worriedly from her spot just behind Jake's shoulder, not liking the way Billy was acting.

Jake stepped further into the kitchen, hesitantly taking the letter from his dad. He looked down at the return address and his whole body stiffened. A low growl rumbled deep in his chest and Lilly stood to attention, wanting to know what made Her Wolf so agitated.

"Jake." Billy warned quietly. Jake ignored him and ripped the envelope open, pulling the contents out.

"What is it?" Lilly asked nervously, wringing her hands together. She didn't like being left out of whatever was making both Billy and Jake so upset.

Jake snarled loudly, making a shiver run up Lilly's spine.

"A wedding invitation."

Lilly froze, her blood running cold. It couldn't be. It was impossible. It couldn't be from who she thought it was. They wouldn't be stupid enough to send Jacob an invitation.

"It's a damn _wedding invitation._ " Jake snarled, slamming the paper down on the kitchen table with a loud _bang_.

Lilly flinched, but not because of the sound. She flinched because of Jake's reaction. He'd claimed weeks ago he had no romantic feelings for Bella Swan, and after all the trouble she caused he claimed he didn't even like her as a friend anymore. As far as he was concerned, she was as good as the Cullens; a leech, the enemy. Yet here he was, growling, muscles tense and trembling in rage at receiving a wedding invitation with the names _Isabella Swan_ and _Edward Anthony Masen Cullen_ printed in clear view from her spot in the doorway.

Lilly struggled to swallow, pain lashing at her chest. Silently backing out of the room, she turned and walked down the short hallway to Jake's bedroom, where she left her bag of dry clothes when they left for the beach. It wasn't like she needed a towel when the weather was so warm and she was with a walking space heater.

She quickly brushed her hair before putting her clothes in her bag and zipping it up, preparing to head home.

There was a creak behind her and she paused.

"Lilly?"

The pain and confusion in his voice made her eyes fall shut. Hesitating for a moment, she slowly peaked over her shoulder to see Jake in the door, his hands braced on either side of the wooden doorway.

"You're-you're not leaving, are you?" he asked worriedly. "I thought we were going to watch a movie or something."

Lilly looked down at the floor. "You just seemed a bit distracted….so I thought I'd just leave you to it."

Jake struggled to swallow, his gut tightening as he stepped into the room. "You're hurt." It wasn't a question. He'd felt her pain lash at his own chest as soon as she left the kitchen.

Lilly sighed, her shoulders drooping as she turned completely away from him. Before he could step closer to her and offer some comfort, she spoke. "I thought you didn't love her anymore." she whispered. "You said you had no romantic feelings for her anymore and yet here you are freaking out over a wedding invitation. Why else would it have made you so mad if you didn't still love her?" Lilly demanded, frustrated and confused tears burning her eyes.

Jake rushed forward, shushing her as he took her into his arms, turning her around and pressing her to his chest. He pressed his face into her hair, shaking his head against her.

"No, no, no, no, no. Sweetie, I promise you've got it all wrong." he swore quietly.

"How? How could I have it wrong? Why else would you be so upset?" she demanded, muffling her cries into his bare chest.

Jake sighed, glancing around his room. He wanted her to be able to look into his eyes when he answered that question, otherwise she'd probably doubt him. Her breathing hitched when he lifted her up, his arms under her butt. He turned and sat on the edge of his bed, her legs on either side of his waist as she straddled his lap. She glanced down at their position, her brows furrowed in confusion before he forced her eyes up with his knuckle under her chin. Her glistening brown eyes met his, the green flecks blended into the brown like a watercolor painting. He wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb before speaking.

"I didn't get upset because of any feelings for Bella. I promised you I didn't feel anything for her and I meant it." he started seriously, "I got upset because she doesn't seem to realize how much her decisions affect the people around her. It's not the marriage that upsets me, it's what comes afterwards. He's going to change her, Lilly. She's going to become a vampire soon."

"But why do you care?" she asked quietly, her voice hoarse.

"I care because of how it affects everyone else. Think about it. He bites her and the Treaty's broken. Normally, I wouldn't care about that. Heck, I'm sorta happy about that part. It means the leeches have to leave or risk a war, because we will attack them. But that also proves how selfish she is. If any of the Cullens actually like Forks they can't come back ever again because the future packs will have to attack them. A war that either side could lose.

"Another thing is how this'll affect Charlie. When Bella gets changed they'll have to fake her death. She's Charlie's only daughter. He was so excited for her to live with him, he loves her. He'll be heartbroken when they tell him she died. He's like another father to me, I don't want to see him go through that."

Lilly nodded, looking down at their laps. Now she felt foolish for doubting Jake's sincerity, even for a second.

"I'm sorry." she whispered, leaning forward and resting her forehead against his chest.

Jake kissed the top of her head, tightening his arms around her and pressing her into his front. "Don't be. It was a fair assumption. Completely incorrect, but still a fair assumption."

Lilly smiled, leaning back as much as his arms would allow to look up at him. "So, does that mean you're not planning to attend the wedding?" she asked teasingly.

Jake snorted, his nose scrunching up like he smelled rotten cheese. "I wouldn't be caught dead at that wedding. Though, I'll probably have to tell Sam about it." he added thoughtfully, "Chances are the Cullens may invite a couple _friends_ or something. Sam may want someone to keep an eye on it just in case."

"Well, if you do end up going, either with your dad or as a guard dog, don't expect me to go with you. The idea of dressing up for a vampire's wedding doesn't really hold any sort of appeal for me. And Bella seems to bring out the worst in me." Lilly responded, only partially joking. There was no way in heaven, hell, and Earth that she was going to that wedding.

Jake smirked. "I beg to differ. You telling her off in my room the day after the battle was probably my favorite part of that day."

Lilly rolled her eyes, trying not to smile. "Whatever."

Jake laughed, kissing her cheek. "Come on, I'm hungry. Dad left just before I followed you in here, he wanted to go check how Charlie's handling everything. How about we eat some lunch?"

Lilly nodded, scooting back to get off his lap. "Okay."

They found a few TV Dinners in the freezer, which they popped in the oven. Jake flipped on the TV as they lounged on the couch to wait for the food to be ready. Lilly turned and leaned her back against the arm of the couch, resting her feet on his lap. Jake distractedly rubbed one of her feet with his thumb while flipping through the channels. On one pass of his thumb down the arch of her foot she twitched. Jake noticed and smirked over at her.

"Are you ticklish?" he asked mischievously.

"No." Lilly denied, cautiously trying to pull her feet from his lap.

"I think you are." he grinned, holding her feet in place and putting the remote on the arm of the couch next to him so both hands were free.

"Jake." Lilly warned, trying to tug her feet free.

Jake smirked, looking her right in the eye as he ran one finger down the arch of her foot.

Lilly shrieked, trying to yank her feet free and scoot away from him.

"Ah! Jake, no!" she screamed, laughing as she tried to get away, but Jake continued tickling her feet, laughing at her reaction. "Jake, stop!" she laughed.

Jake pulled her foot so that her butt was practically dragged into his lap. He let his fingers explore to try and find other places she was ticklish, like the backs of her knees and her ribs. She laughed every time, trying to push his hands away with her own.

"Okay, yes! Obviously I'm ticklish!" she shouted, hoping he'd stop if she confessed, "Now STOP IT!"

Jake simply laughed and continued his assault until the timer on the oven went off.

"There! The food's ready! Now stop!" Lilly pleaded through her laughter, tears trickling down her cheeks. Jake finally relented, gripping her forearm to yank her upright on his lap. He peppered kisses across her cheeks, his lips brushing the tears away.

Lilly gasped for breath, her cheeks flushed and sore from smiling so wide. "Don't you _dare_ tell the pack I'm ticklish." she warned in between deep breaths.

Jake grinned, trying not to laugh at her. "Wouldn't dream of it. It's my job to tickle you, and I don't like sharing."

Lilly laughed, shoving at his chest. "Lets go get our food. I'm hungry."

 **XXX**

 **There's the first chapter of** _ **The Flower's Nightmare**_ **. Even though nothing of extreme significance has happened yet, I hope everyone likes it so far.**

 **I apologize to those of you who were hoping we wouldn't be seeing Bella anymore, but I promise she won't be in this story nearly as much as** _ **Silence of the Flower**_ **. She will cause some drama in a few chapters, but nothing too bad. Also, I won't be following Breaking Dawn hardly at all. There will be no Nessie or Volturi issues. This story is purely Lilly's issues.**

 **** One last thing, I will be creating a new character, who you won't be seeing for about 14 or 15 chapters, however I have no idea what to name him. So, I have created a Poll on my profile with a list of possible names for him for you guys to vote on. I have never created a poll before, so we'll see how this goes. Feel free to vote for the name(s) you like!**


	2. Chapter 2

Lilly and Kim left Emily's house with Jake and Jared late one morning after staying the night. As planned, the girls had a much needed girls night, just lounging around, eating junk food, and having girl talk until about three in the morning.

"So, when are your guys' patrols?" Kim asked curiously, Jared's arm draped over her shoulders as they walked down the street.

"Jake's is at two this afternoon, mine isn't until eight tonight." Jared answered. The patrols had been cut back to one wolf per shift, only having to run for an hour every few hours.

"Jake? Whose car is at your house?" Kim asked quietly as they neared the small, red house. Sure enough, there was a gray Nissan parked behind Jake's red Rabbit in their driveway.

Jake's brow furrowed, not recognizing the car. "Not sure."

"Well, I'm taking Kim to my place to hang out. You two can go find out who it is." Jared suggested with a grin, leading Kim down the sidewalk.

"Bye Lilly! Bye Jake!" Kim called over her shoulder.

"Bye Kim!" they called back, Jake taking Lilly's hand in his and approaching the front door of his house.

"Dad?" he called as he opened the door, letting Lilly enter ahead of him. Lilly stepped aside and let him enter the house. Voices coming from the kitchen paused.

"Jake! Come and see who's here!" Billy called excitedly seconds before he wheeled himself out of the kitchen. Lilly watched curiously as a young woman followed him out. She was about the same height as Lilly, maybe an inch taller and with a slim yet curvy build. Her black hair was just past her shoulders and appeared to have layers, which made her waves more pronounced than Lilly's. Lilly also noticed the girl had the same eyes as Jake and Billy, just a bit wider, giving her a more innocent, feminine look.

At the sight of her, Jake stiffened. Lilly looked worriedly up at him, feeling his emotions whirling through her from the imprint bond. Shock, confusion, anger, pain.

"Rachel?" he whispered.

"Jake! Wow, dad you weren't kidding. He really did grow up." Rachel smiled, glancing at her dad before smiling up at her 'little' brother.

"What are you doing here?" Jake asked quietly. Lilly bit her lip, knowing this wouldn't be the reception Rachel Black expected.

Rachel's smile dropped just a bit. "I, uh, I graduated early. Figured I'd come visit for a couple weeks before I try and find a job."

"So,…after two years of no word; no phone calls or mail or anything…you just decide to randomly drop in on us expecting us to welcome you home with open arms?" Jake asked incredulously, his quiet voice scarier than if he had been yelling.

"Jacob." Billy warned his son, glancing worriedly up at his daughter, who looked both shocked and heartbroken.

"Jake." Lilly whispered, stepping forward and tugging on his forearm.

"You left us behind! You and Rebecca left your fourteen year old brother to take care of our dad alone! Back then, I could barely lift him out of his chair when he needed help! Do you have any idea how hard it was for the two of us?"

Rachel's dark brown eyes started glistening, turning a bit red around the edges. "Jake, I'm sorry, but-"

"Oh, you're sorry!" Jake mocked angrily, "You think you and Rebecca were the only two hurting? You weren't the only ones who lost Mom! Yet you both bailed as soon as you could! At least Becca's called a few times, we didn't even get that much from you! You lived all of eight hours away, and you couldn't even make it home for Christmas during an entire one month winter break?!"

"Jake." Lilly yanked on Jake's arm and his head snapped around to stare down at her. She barely stopped herself from flinching at the sight of his yellow eyes. Instead, she maintained eye contact and pulled on his arm, leading him to the other side of the room.

He stared into her eyes, the yellow in his pupils slowly melting away to his normal dark brown.

"Jake, you need to calm down." Lilly whispered to him.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath of her cinnamon and green apple scent in through his nose. When he opened his eyes again, he was back to normal, human-Jake, but he was still angry and, underneath that, hurt.

"You can't expect me to just be fine with this, Lilly. She left us. You know how much that hurt."

She did. He'd told her so on a few different occasions.

"I know that. But she's also hurt, Jake. She's hurt and I'm sure she just wants to be home with her dad and brother. You can tell by the look in her eyes how much she regrets leaving. She's sorry, Jake."

Jake sighed, dropping his head. He peaked over his shoulder, his eyes scanning his oldest sister's face, taking in the pain and hope in her dark eyes. He sighed again, turning back to his girlfriend.

"I can't just…forget that she left." he whispered, as if searching for a reason to be mad.

"Maybe not, but you _can_ forgive her. Or at least work on forgiving her. I know you missed her, Jake."

Jake nodded, because she was right. He missed both his older sisters. He looked down into Lilly's eyes for a moment, squeezing her hands in his. "Thanks, Flower."

Lilly smiled, letting him kiss her cheek before he lead her back toward his dad and sister with their hands still linked. He released Lilly's hand and took the last few steps that brought him face-to-face with his sister. He took a deep breath that made his shoulders lift.

"Rach, it didn't just piss me off that you abandoned us like you did, it hurt. I get that you and Becca were grieving, but you leaving made it feel like me and dad weren't as important to you as Mom was. It'll probably take some time, but…I'll try and work on forgiving you…Because as upset as I am, I've missed my sisters."

Rachel nodded, a few tears escaping her eyes. Jake looked down at her for a few more moments before he opened his arms. A quiet sob escaped Rachel's lips as she literally fell into Jake's arms, hugging him tightly as his arms constricted around her.

Billy met Lilly's eyes and he smiled gratefully at her. Lilly smiled back, her eyes traveling back to Her Wolf and his sister.

It was several moments before Rachel and Jake finally pulled away. When Rachel wiped under her eyes, Jake glanced over his shoulder to give Lilly a grateful smile. She smiled back, but was surprised when he stepped away from his sister and approached her instead. He took her hand in his, giving her a wink before tugging her forward.

"Rach, this is my girlfriend, Lilly. Lil, this is my sister Rachel." Jake introduced them proudly, releasing Lilly's hand to wrap his arm around her waist instead when the two girls were face-to-face.

Rachel smiled widely, reminding Lilly a little bit of Jake's own 100 watt smile.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." Rachel offered her hand for Lilly to shake, which she did.

"You too." Lilly smiled back, trying not to be shy or awkward. She really wished she wasn't meeting Jake's sister the day after having a sleepover, since her hair was a bit messy and she only had about four hours of sleep.

"Lilly's Abby Fuller's granddaughter." Billy announced, wheeling forward just a bit, "You remember her?"

"Oh my gosh, yeah! She used to go hunting with you and the guys." Rachel grinned, glancing at her dad before looking back at Lilly. She smirked at Jake before turning back to the girl at his side. "So, what are you doing with a dork like my baby brother?"

Lilly giggled when Jake grumbled near her ear. "Well, he asked me out at a bonfire and it just kinda went from there. I suppose he's a much better choice than Quil or something."

Rachel laughed. "Yeah, I suppose that is true."

"Well, you two can get to know each other some other time." Jake cut in, moving his arm around Lilly's shoulders. "Lilly spent the night at Emily's and didn't get a lot of sleep, and I have a shift later today. So, I think we're going to take a nap in my room."

Rachel and Billy both smirked. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, son." Billy warned teasingly, "You know Abby's not above using you for target practice."

Rachel laughed while Lilly ducked her head in embarrassment.

"Ha, ha, you're hilarious." Jake droned dryly, nudging Lilly toward his bedroom. They ignored the snickering as the pair entered Jake's room and closed the door behind them.

"Well, that wasn't so bad." Lilly shrugged, sitting on Jake's bed to slip her shoes off and drop her backpack on the floor. He rolled his eyes at her.

"Yeah, 'cause you talked to her for all of a minute. Trust me, she'll go out of her way to interrogate and embarrass you when she gets a chance, which I will try to prevent."

"She's just looking out for her baby brother." Lilly teased, scooting toward the wall to make room for Jake on the bed.

Jake narrowed his eyes playfully as he sat next to her. "Her _baby brother_ is a foot taller than her and could bench-press a truck." he whispered, smug smirk slipping onto his face. Lilly rolled her eyes even as the image of Jake bench-pressing a truck popped into her head, the muscles of his arms bulging and flexing. She bit her lip and looked down, noticing Jake's smirk had widened.

"Did I just put an image in your head?" he teased, leaning forward so his warm breath caressed her cheeks and lips. She swallowed but covered it by rolling her eyes at him. She gave his shoulder a shove before turning over and laying down on her side with her back to him.

"You wish." she muttered, closing her eyes to pretend she was trying to sleep.

Jake chuckled from above her, his hand squeezing her hip. "I do wish." he agreed, but he decided to stop teasing her, laying down next to her and wrapping an arm around her tummy, pulling her in to spoon.

XXX

"Lilly." a familiar voice was whispering in her ear, a warm hand rubbing her arm. "Flower, I've gotta get going soon."

Lilly blinked her eyes open, groaning as she stretched. She peaked over her shoulder, giving Jake a tired smile. He grinned back, kissing her nose.

"My patrol starts in 20 minutes. You're free to stay in here and nap if you want, I just figured I'd let you know so you didn't wake up and find me missing."

She nodded, turning over in his arms so they were facing each other. She yawned before looking back up at him. "I'll probably head home after you leave. Gran had a list of chores she wanted me to complete at some point today."

Jake nodded when Lilly remembered something.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I have something for you." she tried not to be embarrassed as she scooted out from under the blanket and gestured for her backpack at the foot of the bed. Jake sat up, grabbed it, and handed it to her. The bag rested on the bed between Jake's leg and Lilly's knee as she opened it and pulled her sketchpad out.

She flipped the cover open and pulled out a loose sheet of paper, slowly handing it to her boyfriend.

Jake looked down at the beautiful picture, a smile easily slipping onto his face. It was a colored, close-up sketch of his wolf, standing with his head held high with a forest in the background.

"Lilly, this is amazing. I mean, that's no surprise, all your sketches are amazing." he added, looking up to smile at her, making her give an embarrassed smile in return. "So, this is for me?"

She nodded. "It's fine if you don't want it, I-" Jake swooped down and pressed a firm kiss to her lips, quickly shutting her up.

"Don't even." he ordered with a smile as he pulled away. "I love it. I'll get a frame as soon as I can so I can hang it up on the wall. Thank you." he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side.

Lilly smiled happily, nestling her head in the space where his shoulder met his neck.

The two spent the following 15 minutes talking and staying in their little bubble under his sheets. Finally, Jake had to drag himself away with a final kiss, heading out to start his patrol. Lilly brushed her fingers through her hair before pulling it back into a braid so she wouldn't look completely like a slob when she left Jake's room.

She found Rachel sitting on the couch in the living room when she walked through towards the front door. Rachel glanced over her shoulder and they exchanged smiles.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Rachel asked before Lilly could reach the door. Lilly paused and turned back to her.

"Um, sure." she answered hesitantly.

"How long have you and Jake been dating?" she asked, gesturing to the empty space on the couch. Lilly sat down slowly.

"Um, well we're going on a few weeks now." Lilly answered slowly, silently surprised herself since it felt longer than that.

Rachel nodded, also looking a bit surprised. "Wow. I thought it would've been at least a couple months. You guys seem close."

Lilly shrugged. "Well, we were friends of sorts for a while before we started dating." she didn't mention out loud that they were really only friends for about a month before their first date. "And we hang out with the same group of friends."

"Really? Like who?"

"Um, well Embry and Quil, obviously; there's also Jared and Kim, Sam and Emily, Paul, my cousin Brady and your cousin Collin, and Seth and Leah."

Rachel blinked, her eyebrows almost to her hairline. "Wow, that's a bit of an age gap. At least 7 years between the youngest and oldest. Wait, Sam as in Sam Uley?"

Lilly nodded hesitantly.

"Why's Leah hanging out with her ex?" Rachel asked, her tone and narrowed eyes suggesting she was mildly suspicious.

"Um, uh," Lilly stuttered a bit, "I'm not sure." she finally answered, not wanting to give Rachel too much to look into.

"Hm." Rachel nodded slowly, still looking suspicious, but she let it drop. "How serious are you and Jake?"

Lilly thought for a moment. How could she answer that question? How would you describe the seriousness of your relationship?

"Um, we've been on one official date, aside from that we mostly hang out. He set up a picnic in the living room a couple weeks ago, if you count that as a date. I just consider it us hanging out, being ourselves. We hang out at the beach a lot."

Rachel nodded. "And how far have you two gone?"

Lilly narrowed her eyes in confusion. When Rachel gave her a significant look, also glancing toward Jake's bedroom, it clicked. "Oh! Um, well, not…very far? I mean, we've…kissed…And we've slept in the same bed a few times, but we didn't do anything." Lilly stuttered, feeling the need to defend herself even though she didn't really need to.

Rachel smirked. "Relax. I'm not going to ask for details about my brother's sex life, and I'm not going to snitch on you two if you _are_ doing anything. I was just curious, and I also want to warn you. I know nowadays teenagers seem to think sex isn't a big deal, but don't rush into anything. I like you, you seem pretty good for my brother, but don't jump into the physical aspect of a relationship before you're 100% ready. And I doubt he'd push you for sex, but if he does, I don't care if he's my brother, knee him in the balls."

Lilly snorted and covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to laugh. Rachel laughed with her until she managed to calm herself down. "I don't think Jake would ever push me for anything, but thanks for the advice." she smiled to let Jake's sister know she genuinely appreciated it.

"No problem." Rachel grinned back but for some reason it seemed a bit forced this time. When Lilly gave her a concerned look she looked at her lap. "Just curious,… have you two…have you said 'I love you' yet?"

Lilly looked down a bit, remembering the day of the battle up in the snowy mountains. The day Jake and her had admitted that, while they weren't all the way there, they could feel themselves falling in love with each other. "No, we haven't said it yet. We agreed we wouldn't say it until we're sure we love each other. And if one of us says it we aren't expected to say it back unless we're sure."

Rachel scanned her face, as if checking she was telling the truth. She looked mildly surprised. "Wow, that's…that's sweet. Good. I was just…lots of people rush into that kind of thing. I'm glad you guys are taking your time." Lilly watched her for a moment, noticing her eyes looked like they were glistening, wet with tears.

"Is…is something wrong?" she asked hesitantly.

Rachel sighed heavily, puffing up her cheeks as she released her breath. "Well, um,…lets just say I have a hard time believing in love." she admitted slowly.

"Why?" Lilly asked in concern.

Rachel gave a breathy laugh, though it held no humor. "Lots of reasons. Or, well, basically one reason, just being repeated over and over and over." she explained, leaving Lilly feeling even more confused. "I've just seen lots of good people get hurt by falling in love."

"Like who?" Lilly asked nervously, wringing her hands together.

"Well, growing up I saw lots of family friends get hurt. My own father was heartbroken and depressed when my mom died; Charlie Swan, my dad's best friend, had his heart broken when his wife left him and took his daughter to a different state; and Quil's mom, Joy Ateara, lost her husband and has had to raise her son and take care of her father-in-law alone."

Lilly nodded uncomfortably. "Okay, but most of those things couldn't be helped. And don't you think your dad would've rather loved and lost your mom than to have never loved her at all?" she asked hesitantly, not wanting to make Rachel mad at her.

Rachel seemed to consider that for a moment before she slowly nodded her head. "Yeah, I suppose you're right about that. But then…a few things have happened recently that continue to make me doubt love."

"Like what, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Well, personally I've had my own heart broken. Now, you can't tell anyone about this conversation, okay?" Lilly nodded firmly, "Not even Jake." Lilly nodded again, "My first year of college, I met this guy in one of my classes. We started dating and within a month he said he loved me. I wasn't sure if I was there yet, but I didn't want to upset him so I said it back anyway. He…pushed for sex…a lot. But there was something holding me back. I just felt like I wasn't ready, or something. Then, when our first anniversary started approaching I thought I would give him my virginity for being _such_ an amazing boyfriend." she finished the last few words sarcastically, rolling her eyes at herself.

"So, on our anniversary we…you know, had sex. It was not pleasant for me, at all. It was the most physically painful experience I've ever had. Anyway, the next morning he wasn't in my room with me when I woke up and I found a text message on my phone from him saying it wasn't working and he was breaking up with me."

Lilly's mouth fell open in shock, hardly believing someone could be so cruel. Rachel was staring blankly ahead, chewing on the inside of her bottom lip to keep herself from breaking down. She suddenly laughed, sounding bitter and cold.

"And that's not even the best part. A few days later I walked into my dorm and found him having sex with my roommate. Go figure. Safe to say I quickly asked to be moved to a different dorm. So yeah. My first serious boyfriend lied to me and used me for sex, and now my twin sister is getting a divorce because her husband has been cheating on her with fricken _swimsuit models_." she finished, her face turning red in anger and her eyes gleaming with tears. Suddenly, her eyes went wide and she slapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes flying over to Lilly's face, who looked just as shocked. "Please don't tell anyone about that! Becca made me promise not to tell dad or Jake yet, she's going to tell them soon!" she mumbled desperately.

Lilly blinked rapidly, her mind reeling from the onslaught of information. "Um, yeah, okay. I won't say anything, I promise. So, is your sister going to stay in Hawaii or move back down here or something?"

Rachel dropped her hands to her lap, shrugging. "I'm not sure. I've only talked to her a few times since she caught him cheating. I think she'd like to move back down here, but she's nervous about how dad and Jake will react. You know, given that the last time they talked was when she called and told them she'd eloped. And given Jake's reaction to me coming back I'd say she's got good reason to be nervous." she finished sadly, grimacing.

Lilly mirrored the expression. "He was just shocked and upset when he saw you. I'm sure if Rebecca explained what's happened to Jake and your dad, she'll have a much happier reception."

"Yeah, I hope so. I mean, if she decided to move back down here I actually wouldn't mind doing the same. I've really missed this place." she suddenly grinned sheepishly. "Sorry for kinda…attacking you with information. I swear, I'm not always this much of a wreck, I've just had a big, slightly eventful day. I bet that wasn't what you were expecting for your first serious conversation with your boyfriend's sister."

Lilly laughed. "No, it wasn't."

 **XXX**

 **Wow, I can't believe I got 32 reviews just for the first chapter! That's definitely a record for me. : )**

 **I probably won't be updating this story as frequently, I only updated today because this is the 2** **nd** **day in a row my classes have been cancelled due to weather and I have nothing better to do. Not much happened in this chapter, but there was a lot of important information that will come up later on in the story, so keep that in mind.**


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Lilly was sat on the beach watching Jake, Quil and Embry play catch in the water. She'd been playing with them for a while, so she was soaked and sitting on a towel now. She looked up at the sound of pebbles shifting under feet, smiling at Paul as he took a seat next to her.

"Hey Paul. What's up?" she greeted, already looking back at the guys tossing their football around.

"Um, well I was hoping I could ask you for a favor." he admitted, his voice quieter than normal. She looked over at him in concern.

"Sure. What is it?"

He took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on his pack brothers instead of her. "I imprinted." he whispered.

Lilly's mouth fell open and she didn't know what to say for a while. Paul had always seemed so confident when it came to girls, but he looked kinda lost, which would make sense when she thought about it. Some girls may not like the kind of guy he was in high school, a player and a bit of a man whore.

"When did that happen?" she finally asked.

"Yesterday afternoon."

"And does she know you?" Lilly asked hesitantly.

"Not really. We met officially yesterday. I knew of her, but I doubt she'd heard of me."

"And what do you want me to do?" Lilly asked, confused. If this girl hadn't even heard of Paul it was doubtful Lilly knew her.

Paul released a slow breath, finally looking over at her. "I imprinted on Rachel Black." he whispered, his eyes only leaving her long enough to glance nervously toward the water.

Lilly's eyes also snapped toward the water, finding Jake easily as he laughed and tackled Embry under the water. "Oh." was all she said, understanding just a bit. He didn't want her to talk him up to his imprint, he wanted her to protect him from Jacob.

"I just want you to kinda, maybe, be a buffer or something when Jake finds out. As much as I hate to admit it, he will kick my ass." Paul explained, further confirming her thoughts.

Lilly began nodding immediately. "Okay, I'll see what I can do, but you know I wouldn't be strong enough to hold him back if he really wanted to go after you."

Paul chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I know."

Lilly nodded slowly, wanting to add on but needing to think of how to phrase her next words. "Also…I don't know Rachel _that_ well,…but please don't do anything to hurt her…I know what you were always like with other girls, and I know you'd never use her like that, but she's nothing like those other girls. She's not going to jump into bed with you just because you give her a smirk and some smooth talking."

Paul nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on Lilly. "Why do I get the feeling you know more about her than you're letting on?"

Lilly shrugged, looking back ahead to watch her boyfriend and his friends. "We talked for a little bit yesterday before I went home. If you want to get to know her you've gotta earn her trust and give a little yourself."

Paul nodded in understanding before silently getting up and leaving the beach without a word.

XXX

A few hours later, Jake and Lilly returned to his house, Embry and Quil leaving to go about their own business. They entered the house and followed the sounds of people in the kitchen. Jake was mildly surprised to see what looked like Paul Lahote helping Rachel put the groceries away.

"Hey Jake, hi Lilly. How was the beach?" Rachel smiled at the pair, putting a box of cereal in the cupboard above her head.

"Um, it was good." Jake answered, glancing between Paul and Rachel. "How was grocery shopping?"

"It was good. I ran in to Paul at the store and he helped me carry the bags to my car and offered to help put them away." Rachel explained with a smile.

Jake stared at Paul suspiciously, but the other wolf avoided looking at him as he handed Rachel a carton of eggs from the grocery sack. It looked like Jake wanted to say something, so Lilly stepped in.

"Um, Jake you need to get to work soon." she pointed out quietly.

Jake looked down at her in mild surprise before looking at the clock on the microwave to see that, sure enough, his patrol was due to start in a few minutes.

"Right. Um, I'm gunna get going then. I'll see you later." he pecked Lilly on the cheek, gave his sister a smile, and walked out the door. Paul met Lilly's eyes from behind Rachel's back and mouthed, 'Thank you'. Lilly smiled in return just as the phone rang.

Lilly glanced at it and looked back at Rachel and Paul. "Um, do you want me to get that?" she offered, noticing they were still putting things away.

"Yeah, if you could that'd be great." Rachel smiled gratefully. Lilly nodded and grabbed the phone off the wall.

"Black's residence." she greeted into the phone.

"Hello. Is Jacob Black there?" a happy, tinkling voice asked in return.

Lilly's brow furrowed. "Um, he's not here at the moment, could I take a message?"

"Sure, could you just tell him to RSVP for Bella and Edward's wedding? The deadline is approaching rather quickly and normally I wouldn't care because I have plenty of other things to get done for the wedding, but Bella insists Jacob will want to come."

Lilly's mouth fell open and her eyes flicked up to meet Paul's, who looked annoyed. She closed her eyes for a moment, licking her lips before she spoke. "Um, I'm sorry, which Cullen are you again?" she asked as politely as she could, which was difficult.

"Alice."

"Well, um, Alice, I don't speak _for_ Jake, however he informed me the day he got the invitation that he had no intention of going. Now, Billy might go to support Charlie, but Jake doesn't want to go. I'll pass along your message to Jake, because that's the right thing to do, but don't be surprised if you don't get a call from him. And I recommend you don't call here again. I don't think Jake nor Billy would appreciate it."

Lilly wasn't sure what or if Alice would respond, she simply hung up the phone. When she looked back into the kitchen, both Rachel and Paul were staring at her. Paul was smirking but Rachel looked confused.

"Um, who was that?" Rachel asked slowly.

"Oh, uh, well," Lilly paused for a moment to think of how to answer that question, "Charlie Swan's daughter is getting married." she finally answered, "Jake's invited, but he doesn't want to go. That's all I'm gonna say on that topic. You can ask Jake for whatever details he'd be willing to give."

Rachel still looked curious, but seemed to respect that she wouldn't get anymore details out of Lilly and continued putting the last of the groceries away. Lilly decided to hang out with Paul and Rachel until Jake came home, knowing she should be the one to pass on Alice Cullen's message. When the hour was up, Jake walked in through the back door barefoot and only wearing cutoffs. Lilly stood up from her seat on the armchair, knowing Rachel was about to ask why the heck he was barefoot or something else that they couldn't answer.

"I have a message for you." Lilly announced quietly, taking his hand and instantly leading him toward his bedroom.

"Wait, huh? What's going on? And why the hell is Paul still here? Was he here the whole time?" Jake asked, completely confused and bewildered as he closed his door behind them.

"Um, yeah, but that's not important." Lilly waved that off, sitting on Jake's bed and scooting back to sit against his pillow. "Sit." she patted the mattress in front of her and he sat down slowly, eyeing her suspiciously.

"What's going on?"

"You had a phone call and I took a message." she answered quietly.

"From who?"

Lilly swallowed, peaking up at him from under her lashes. She was cautious in answering because she knew he wouldn't like it. "Alice Cullen." Jake tensed. "She was asking about your RSVP for the wedding. Apparently Bella insisted you'd want to come and Alice just wanted me to remind you to RSVP if you were planning on coming."

"Well, did you tell her-"

"I told her that the day you got the invitation you told me you didn't want to go. I told her I'd pass on her message but to not be surprised if you don't call her back. I _also_ told her not to call here again because you and Billy wouldn't appreciate it."

Jake blinked. "Oh. Really? You said all that…to a vampire?" he seemed shocked.

Lilly thought about it. She hadn't realized it until that moment that she'd told a vampire off. Granted, it was over the phone, and it's not like she was super rude, but still. "Yeah, I did." she answered, sounding a bit surprised.

Jake laughed quietly. "Well, look at you, a little daredevil." he teased.

Lilly reached forward and shoved his shoulder. "Shut up."


	4. Chapter 4

Lilly scooped her seven year old Jack Russell Terrier, Dash, into her arms, plopping him back down in the small space between her and Jake on the couch in her living room. Jake lifted his arm and dropped it over her shoulders and back, his opposite hand coming up to scratch Dash behind the ears. They were watching some stupid soap opera, mostly just to make fun of it.

Their laughter was drowned out by Jake's phone ringing from his pocket. He shifted closer to Lilly in order to pull the small device from his shorts pocket.

"Hello?" he asked into the phone, going quiet as whoever it was spoke. He looked confused after a moment. "What's she want?…And she has to tell us right now?" he sighed, rolling his eyes, "Okay, okay, fine. I'll be home in a little bit. Bye Rach." he hung up and leaned over to put his cell back in his pocket.

"I guess I've gotta go. Rach said Rebecca needs to talk to dad and me about something. Apparently, we need to use Skype on Rachel's laptop because Becca feels this is a conversation that needs to be face-to-face." he rolled his eyes exasperatedly. He was one of the people who thought Skype was stupid. Lilly bit her lip, having a bit of an idea what this conversation may be. "And of course, I could hear Paul sitting next to her. He better be gone by the time I get home." Jake grumbled more to himself.

"Jake, Rachel really likes Paul." Lilly pointed out gently. Jake had found out the day before about Paul imprinting on his sister, which was the day after the pixie Cullen had called. As expected, Jake hadn't taken it well. Of course, the fight between Jake and Paul, while it didn't escalade into a wolf-fight, did reveal more information to Rachel than they would've liked. So, the two wolves and Lilly had to sit Rach down and tell her everything. She hadn't taken it well, and pretty much demanded Paul leave the house after imprinting was explained.

Her and Lilly had stayed up well into the night talking, even calling Emily and Leah for a little help explaining certain aspects of the wolf and imprinting things. Leah wasn't entirely helpful given her opinion on imprinting, but she seemed to be able to talk to Rachel on a level only the two of them could understand. They fell asleep and when morning came around Rachel hurried to go find Paul and apologize, giving him a chance to properly explain the imprint to her, which she hadn't done originally. In the day since, they'd become nearly inseparable, mostly just talking and getting to know one another. From what Rachel told Lilly, they had plans to go on a date in a week, and Paul had agreed that they could go slow.

Jake sighed, closing his eyes. "I know, I know. But did it have to be _Paul?_ " he whined, opening his eyes to look over at her.

Lilly smirked a bit. "It could be a lot worse, Jake. At least it's someone you know, and you know he won't hurt her."

"Yeah, I know, but he's probably going to be my _brother-in-law_ one day! And they're probably going to… _do things_ , and I'll have to see it in his head. Then I'll want to kill him, but Rach won't let me!"

Lilly laughed, shoving at his shoulder over Dash's head. "Get going, you goof. You're wanted at home."

Jake leaned over and gave her a brief kiss. "I'll see you later, Flower."

"See you." Lilly smiled, only letting it fall when he was gone. She knew how much his family meant to him. If Rebecca was going to tell him she was getting a divorce because her husband cheated on her, Lilly had a feeling Jake would not be happy. He'd be angry and heartbroken.

Lilly spent the few hours left in the day preparing dinner with her Gran, eating, and then helping with the dishes before retiring to her bedroom to work on a sketch before bed. Her plan was interrupted less than an hour after she started sketching by a quick rap against her window. Her eyes flew up to see Jacob's face through the glass, his black hair melting into the darkness outside.

She hopped off her bed and hurried over, unlocking her window and pushing it open.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she stepped back, allowing him to climb through. He didn't answer, simply pulled her into his chest. She held him back almost as tightly, her hands rubbing over his bare back that was damp from the rain. He turned his nose into her head, taking a deep breath in of her hair. "Jake, what's the matter? Talk to me." she pleaded, trying to pull away to see him.

He sighed, finally pulling back to look down at her, his hands still holding her close around her back. His eyes searched her face for several moments before he spoke.

"You knew." Lilly wasn't sure how to respond, but he continued before she could talk, anyway. "My sister's getting divorced because that asshole cheated on her." he swallowed thickly, his Adam's apple bobbing, "I hate seeing my sisters cry, and tonight I saw Becca break down for the first time since our mom died. Her heart's been crushed, and she was afraid to tell us because she thought we wouldn't care, and that we'd tell her we were right or some crap. My sister was hurt and she was scared to tell me."

Lilly swallowed, feeling her eyes burn as she lifted a hand to rest it against his cheek. Jake's eyes fell close as he pressed his face against her palm. After a few moments he opened his eyes again and stared into hers.

"Rachel said she told you."

Lilly nodded. "Yeah. We were talking and she accidentally blurted it out. It wasn't my place to tell you, Jake."

He nodded. "I know. I'm glad you didn't tell me. Becca needed to." his eyes went blank as he stared into space, lost in his thoughts. Lilly started getting worried when she saw his eyes glisten with tears. When one fell down his cheek she wiped it away with her thumb.

"She said she felt broken." he whispered as another tear fell, his back shaking under Lilly's other hand. "Like she wasn't good enough. She's always been the confident one of the twins, she always knew she was beautiful. She's never doubted that before, but now she is because of that asshole. I'm a protector, but I couldn't protect her from this." he shook his head, looking and feeling lost.

"Jake, this wasn't your fault." Lilly insisted, lifting her hands to cup both his cheeks. "You can't protect everyone. Your sisters left here to see the world. You may be able to protect them from vampires, but it's a little harder to protect them from a broken heart. There are cruel people out there, and some of them wear masks so that you can't see that until it's too late. So no, you couldn't protect Becca from marrying a cheater, but you can be there for her now. You're one of the sweetest, happiest people I know, if anyone can bring her back from this, it's you."

Jake smiled sadly down at her, one hand lifting to hold her hand to his cheek. "Thanks." he whispered, "Becca also asked if she could come home, so she's going to be moving back down here within the next couple weeks, she's just gotta make a few calls and deal with some of that stuff. Dad and Rach want to throw a big welcome home party for her."

Lilly smiled. "I bet she'd like that." she said, even though she didn't know Rebecca.

Jake nodded, still staring down at her, though she noticed his eyes flash with something similar to realization.

"I love you, Lilly." he blurted.

Lilly's mouth fell open in surprise. Jake's eyes turned nervous, and he licked his lips as he stared down at her.

"I already told you that you don't need to say it back, but I really do love you. I know it's fast, but…everything I've heard today…You were here for me, you were there when Rach needed you, you knew just what to say to me tonight to get rid of some of my guilt. I just wanted to tell you. I really do love you, Lilly. And I promise you that I will never do to you what he did to Rebecca. If I can do nothing else, I can love you completely and unconditionally. I would never hurt you like that."

Lilly smiled, her own eyes tearing up. "I love you, too, Jake." she whispered.

Jake smiled in relief before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her lips. Lilly fisted the hair at the nape of his neck, pulling him close as they kissed for a few minutes. They only pulled away when air became an issue.

"We should get some sleep." Jake whispered, his forehead pressed to hers.

"Stay with me tonight?" Lilly whispered hopefully.

"Of course." Jake grinned, pressing another kiss to her forehead before they climbed into bed to fall asleep together.

 **XXX**

 **Pretty short, but the next couple chapters are going to be really long. And fair warning, there will be some Bella drama in the next couple chapters, which some of you probably won't like, but I swear she's not in this story that often.**


	5. Chapter 5

Lilly felt her phone vibrate in her pocket as she set a chair out at one of the several tables that were already set out in the Blacks' backyard. She pulled her phone out and checked it to find she got a message from Jake.

 _'Leaving the airport now'_

Lilly looked around until she found Billy talking to one of his sisters. "Billy, Jake just texted me. They're leaving the airport now."

"Thanks Lilly." Billy called back.

"Alright, if they're leaving the airport now, that gives us about…4 hours, probably less with Jake's driving." Rachel muttered thoughtfully as she set another table out next to the one Lilly put down.

"Do you know who all is coming?" Lilly asked as they headed back to the minivan one of Billy's sisters owned, which contained the tables and chairs.

"Um, for family we've got three of my aunts, only one of my uncles can make it, and some cousins, one of which is Collin. Collin wanted to invite Brady, but I'm not sure if he can make it or not. Old Quil, Joy, and Quil are coming. I think Embry's coming. Sue is coming with Leah and Seth. Paul's obviously here." she nodded toward where Paul was setting up a table, "And I think Charlie's coming. I think that's it." she looked up thoughtfully as they reached the car, pulling a couple chairs out. "Well, it's close enough. If I missed anyone we'll find out later."

"Yeah, hopefully there'll be enough food with how many wolves will be here." Lilly smirked.

Rachel laughed. She'd seen first hand in the few weeks she'd been home that the guys were bottomless pits. "I'm sure we'll have enough. Aunt Connie said it's more of a potluck. Everyone's bringing something to eat. If nothing else, I bought ten party-size bags of potato chips yesterday."

Lilly laughed as they set their chairs down at the same table as before. "And I heard Leah mention Billy and Charlie sent their latest catch to Sue for her to cook for the party."

"Oh, Sue's fish fry, yum." Rachel moaned, closing her eyes. Lilly laughed, giving her shoulder a light push before returning to the van.

Over the next 3 hours, several more people arrived to help set up, many of them bearing food and drinks of a large variety. Three of Billy's sisters arrived and were helping Sue and Joy finish up most of the food in the kitchen before bringing them outside to place on the tables. There were a few of Jake's cousins, the younger two being entertained by Collin and Brady to keep them out of the way. Billy was talking with Old Quil and Kevin Littlesea, Collin's dad, while they supervised Paul grilling the burgers. Lilly recognized most people from around the rez, but couldn't put names to some of the faces.

Her, Rachel, and Leah were placing some bowls and dishes of food on the serving table when a familiar police cruiser parked in front of the house.

"Looks like Charlie's here." Rachel said with a smile. She hadn't seen much of Charlie Swan since she came home and was excited to see him again. Paul approached them just then, having finished grilling all the burgers, and scowled.

"Looks like he brought company." he growled. Lilly and Rachel shared a confused look, but Leah was already glaring toward the cruiser. When the two other girls looked again, they saw a young, pale, brunette girl getting out of the passenger seat.

"That's not who I think it is, is it?" Rachel asked, glancing warily between Leah and Paul. Leah had been one of her best friends growing up, which of course had caused issues for Paul, since he really didn't care for the she-wolf, but he'd been making an effort to get along with her for Rachel's sake.

"Yep. Bella Swan." Lilly answered, looking back down at the table as she rearranged a few dishes.

"Why would she come? I thought you guys said the Cullens didn't like her being here." Rachel asked in confusion. She knew most of the story about Bella and the Cullens from Paul, Lilly, and a little bit from Jake.

"I can think of a few reasons." Paul grumbled.

"She probably wants to talk to Jake, since he hasn't RSVPed for her wedding." Lilly answered quietly, wanting to simply pretend Bella wasn't there. The last time they saw one another had been in Jake's room while he was recovering after the battle, and Lilly told her off and pretty much made her leave.

"Wouldn't she take the hint? If he hasn't gotten back to her by now he obviously isn't going. The wedding's in, what, a little under a month? Doesn't she have more important things to worry about?" Rachel asked, looking mildly annoyed.

"She's not too good at taking hints." Paul responded as Seth approached them.

"If you're talking about Bella, she's headed this way." Seth informed them. He was nicer than anyone else in the pack, but he still wasn't a fan of Bella, mostly due to his loyalty to the pack and the fact that she put all of them in danger, as well as threatening Lilly a couple times.

As he said, Bella had left her father's side and was heading towards them.

"Guys, for Billy's sake, please be nice." Lilly whispered, looking back and forth between Leah and Paul.

"Hi Seth." Bella greeted quietly when she reached them.

"Hi." he answered back just as quietly.

Bella glanced at all of them before her eyes landed on Lilly, who slowly looked up from where she'd been looking at the food.

"Hi Lilly." she greeted stiffly, her nose lifting just a smidge.

"Bella." Lilly responded just as stiffly.

Bella raised her eyebrows in a somewhat sarcastic expression. "Wow, so you're still talking?"

Lilly gritted her teeth, but Rachel cleared her throat and took a step forward. "Hi Bella. I'm Rachel, Jake's sister." she introduced herself, offering her hand.

Bella took it slowly, looking confused. "Oh, I was told you weren't supposed to be back for another hour or so." she glanced around, "Where's Jake?"

"Oh, you're thinking of my twin, Rebecca. They should be here in the next half hour or so." Rachel responded with a small smile, dropping Bella's hand.

"Oh, right. I forgot Jake mentioned having two sisters." Bella responded with a nod.

"What are you doing here, Swan?" Leah asked, tired of the back and forth formalities.

"I was invited." she responded snippily.

"No you weren't." Lilly responded before she could stop herself.

"Oh, and I suppose you were?" Bella's eyes flashed and she continued before Lilly could respond. "Charlie's best friends with Billy, I have more of a right to be here than you do. You don't even know Jake's sister."

"At least I knew before today that he has two." Lilly argued, "And for your information, I _was_ invited. By Jake, my _boyfriend_. And I've been here for almost four hours helping set up, you just got here."

"Oh, so you and Jake are still…together." Bella stated slowly.

Lilly refrained from rolling her eyes. Of course that was what Bella got out of that statement. "Yes, Bella. Jake and I are still together."

Bella's eyes hardened in anger. "So I suppose you told him he couldn't come to my wedding."

"What? No. He told me and Billy the day he got your invitation that he didn't want to go. I didn't make him do anything." Lilly argued.

"That's a lie! Jake's my best friend, of course he would want to come! He doesn't even love you. Imprinting is a joke. It's making him think he loves you, but he's being forced. You're not good enough for him."

"Would you just shut up about things you don't understand? You don't know anything about imprinting. And you have a mate. You're getting married at the end of summer, why can't you just be happy with your fiancé? You can't have both of them."

"Shut up." Bella snapped, her arm pulling back. Before anyone could step in, her fist shot forward and connected with Lilly's left cheekbone.

Embry and Quil arrived from the trees at that moment, stepping forward just in time to help Seth hold Rachel, Paul, and Leah back from attacking Bella.

"What the hell?" Quil demanded, his arm wrapped around Rachel's waist to keep her back.

"She was insulting me." Bella defended herself quickly.

"She was defending herself, and my brother, from your insane accusations." Rachel snapped, yanking at Quil's hold. Seth was holding Leah back in a similar hold and Embry was shoving against Paul's shoulders. "What gives you the right to just punch someone like that?"

"Guys, just forget it." Lilly mumbled, her cheek numb and tingling. She stepped forward to stand in front of them. "I'm fine, okay?"

"You are not fine." Paul snapped in disbelief.

"Bella, I suggest you go hang out with the adults over there. You're not really welcome here at the moment." Seth suggested coolly, despite still struggling to hold Leah back.

Bella sniffed, sticking her nose up at them and walking away with as much dignity as she could muster.

"Jake's gonna have a fit." Quil noted, tilting Lilly's head up a bit with his knuckle under her chin. She sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Guys, please just…don't tell him."

"What?!" most of them snapped in shock.

"Are you crazy? What is it with you not wanting to tell people when you get hit in the face?" Embry demanded, clearly referencing the day she'd walked out of school a couple months back with a hand mark over her right cheek.

"Wait, what? Someone's hit you before?" Rachel asked in shock.

"Yep, last school year she came out of school with a handprint on her cheek." Paul explained, still angry about it.

Lilly rolled her eyes. "Oh my gosh, fine. It was Bridgette that slapped me that day. Are you happy?" Bridgette had moved away for college or something a couple weeks back, so Lilly didn't have to worry about a wolf attack being in the news the next few days.

"What?! Bridgette? Why didn't you tell me?" Paul snapped, his eyes flashing golden yellow for a moment.

"Who's Bridgette?" Rachel asked cautiously. Paul fell silent, his eyes going just a bit wider than before.

"Just a girl who graduated this year. She wasn't a fan of me." Lilly explained with a shrug, not wanting to get Paul in trouble with his imprint given that he'd slept with Bridgette at least a few times. Granted, Bridgette slept around as much as he did.

Rachel knew about Paul's reputation as a player and man whore, obviously it would've been social suicide for him if he tried to keep it a secret. That announcement lead to an argument, a couple days of the pair not talking, and finally Rachel insisting Paul be tested for STDs before she would forgive him. The whole pack was still giving him crap for it.

"You can't honestly expect us to keep _this_ from Jake." Embry interrupted, pointing at the sore area of her left cheek bone and the side of her nose. "It's already bruising, Lil. It's going to be the first thing he notices."

"Okay, so he'll know I got hurt, but he doesn't need to know any details." Lilly reasoned hopefully. They all stared her down, a few of them crossing their arms. "Guys, he'll freak out."

"And rightfully so." Rachel cut in, glancing angrily over Lilly's shoulder, no doubt at where Bella was standing across the yard.

Lilly's shoulders slouched a bit. "Guys, today is supposed to be about welcoming Rebecca home. It's about her. I don't want to make this about Bella." her eyes met Rachel's, hoping she could get Rebecca's twin on her side, "Do you really want to ruin this welcome home party by having Jake have a screaming match with Bella? He'll snap."

"Of course he will. If someone hurt Claire I'd kick their ass." Quil responded as if it were obvious.

"But wouldn't it be better to do that when we're not in the company of the Police Chief and several of Jake's family members?" Lilly asked, waving her hand to vaguely gesture behind her where several of said family members were talking.

"Hey, why _don't_ we tell the Police Chief?" Paul asked rhetorically with a smirk. "After all, her punching you would be considered assault."

"Paul." Lilly warned him, glaring even though the slight squint hurt her cheek.

"You have to tell Jake, Lilly." Seth cut in seriously, "He has a right to know."

Lilly swallowed. "I…Alright, fine. I'll tell him _after_ the party." she relented.

"And how are you going to explain the quickly-forming bruise right there?" Leah asked cynically, pointing at her cheek.

"I'll…I'll calm Jake down somehow. I know how to talk him down." she answered confidently, more than she actually felt.

Paul narrowed his eyes at her. "Alright, fine. But you _will_ tell him before tonight. He patrols later tonight, and if you don't tell him before his shift, I'll have no issues phasing on my way home to show him _exactly_ what happened."

XXX

Half an hour later, Lilly was helping Sue carry a cooler filled with ice and drinks outside. They heard a car pull up in front of the house just as the cooler touched the grass. Lilly looked around the corner of the house from her spot by the table to see Jake's red Rabbit.

Rachel practically ran around the house to greet her siblings at the car, followed by a crowd of mostly family and a few friends. Lilly could easily see Jake's face, being at least a head above the rest of the crowd. The only person surrounding him that came close was Collin.

Lilly's cousin, Brady came up next to her. "Some people have no respect." he noted, nodding to show that Bella was also joining the group. Most everyone else had the sense to let people who knew Rebecca the best greet her first, mainly her family and the couple friends from high school who'd come to visit.

Lilly saw Jake lift his head to look around, and she dropped her head before he could meet her eyes. She turned and made her way toward the house, wanting to put off Jake seeing the bruise as long as she could.

She entered the back door and headed for the kitchen. There was one last large bowl of mixed fruit that still needed to be taken outside. She was taking the saran wrap off the top when she heard the door open and close. She knew it was him before he even entered the room, but she kept her eyes fixed on the colorful fruit as she crumpled the saran wrap into a ball.

Jake's hands rested on her hips as he pressed a kiss to the back of her head.

"Hey. What's up?" he greeted her quietly.

"Nothing. Just getting this last bowl ready to be taken outside." she answered casually. He rested his chin on her shoulder, luckily her right shoulder so he couldn't see the bruising. He leaned his head against hers as he plucked the ball of saran wrap from her hands, tossing it in the trash behind him.

"You didn't greet me when I got home." he pouted, "I wanted to introduce you to my sister. I may or may not have talked about you most of the ride here." he grinned unabashedly.

"Oh great." Lilly grinned sarcastically, peaking over at him. "I can just imagine what you said about me for two hours."

"Two and _a_ _half_ , thank you very much." he sniffed, before smiling, "Just kidding. I'm not _that_ obsessed."

"Well, that's a relief." she teased, momentarily forgetting about her tender cheek.

Jake scanned the part of her face that he could see for several moments before he gently turned her around with a hold on her forearm. When she was fully facing him, his eyes easily landed on her bruise.

Jake's eyes flashed yellow and Lilly quickly ducked her head, remembering once again why she'd been hiding in the kitchen.

"What the hell happened?" he snarled. Lilly winced at the tone.

"Jake, it's nothing, I swear. It doesn't even hurt." she insisted. Jake cupped her jaw line in his hand and tilted her face up. When his thumb gently brushed the blue and purple mark she winced at the mild sting, proving her claim to be incorrect.

"Sure it doesn't." Jake muttered, his eyes finding hers once again. "Who did it?" he snarled.

Lilly shook her head. "Jake, no. I'm not telling you yet-"

"Like hell you're not. Who the hell did this to you?" he demanded angrily, caging her in against the counter with his hands braced on either side of her.

"Jake, please calm down." Lilly whispered nervously. She wasn't really scared of him, at least not of him hurting her, but she didn't want anyone to walk in to see him like this. Shaking and yellow-eyed.

Jake closed his eyes, taking in several deep breaths before he could get his tremors under control. His muscles were still tense and his wolf was still thrashing around inside, chomping at the bit to get revenge on whoever dared to lay a hand on their imprint.

When he finally felt under control, he opened his eyes and fixed them on her. "Okay, I'm calm. Now, who did it?" he asked quietly.

Lilly swallowed. "How about I make a deal with you?"

"Lilly." he warned.

"Please, Jake." she pleaded, moving one of her hands to rest on his atop the counter. "I promise I'll tell you later, but can it wait 'til after the party? Please?"

Jake exhaled harshly through his nose.

"Jake, please. I know you love me, and I love how much you care about me, but pretty please, just for today, can I _not_ be your number one priority?" When Jake's eyes narrowed in confusion, she continued, "Today's supposed to be about your sister, welcoming her home. Do you really want to ruin it by getting into a huge fight with someone?"

Jake sighed, dropping his head forward until his forehead rested on her shoulder, his back bowed heavily to reach that far down. Lilly lifted her other hand and ran it through his short, black hair, turning her head just enough to kiss the spot below his ear. Jake sighed again.

"Okay, fine. But as soon as people start leaving, you are telling me exactly what happened and who hurt you, got it?" he ordered, lifting his head and fixing her with a stern look.

"Deal." Lilly nodded, giving him a small smile. Jake leaned down and gently brushed his lips against her bruise a few times before giving her a kiss on the lips.

When he pulled away he opened the freezer, pulled out the ice pack she'd been using earlier, under Sue's instructions, and handed it to her. "You need to use this."

She smiled at the sweet gesture. "Love you." she murmured.

He grinned back. "Love you, too." he answered before grabbing the bowl of fruit and leading her out of the house. They crossed the yard to where some of the women were still organizing where all the food should go and Jake handed Sue the bowl of fruit before leading Lilly away with her free hand in his. When Lilly realized he was leading her toward Rachel, Leah, Paul and a group of young women, she tried to stop.

"Jake, wait. Maybe we should wait a little bit before you introduce me." Lilly argued nervously.

Jake looked down at her, his face a mixture of amused and puzzled. "Why are you so nervous about meeting Rebecca? You weren't nervous with Rachel."

"Well, yeah, but Rachel appeared out of nowhere. I've known Rebecca was coming for weeks now. That gives the nerves time to build up." she muttered, ducking her head. "Plus, I have a black eye." she pointed out.

Jake narrowed his eyes a bit. "A black eye is going to take at least a couple weeks to heal, you want to wait 'til then to meet her?"

"No, but-"

"Besides, Becca doesn't care about appearances. She cares about personality. You're funny, sweet, and an artist. She already likes you and you haven't even met yet." he added with a grin.

Lilly narrowed her eyes suspiciously up at him. "Why do I get the feeling you spent most of the car ride home talking me up to her?"

Jake smirked and started tugging her forward again. "Not talking up, I was completely honest."

As they crossed the yard Lilly saw Collin, Brady, and Seth playing soccer with a boy who looked to be 11 or 12, and a girl who looked no older than ten; Rachel had mentioned earlier they were cousins, the children of Billy's sister Jennie.

"Hello ladies," Jake greeted when they reached the group, "and Paul." he added with a smirk. Paul flipped him off in response, which made a couple of the girls giggle.

"You haven't given me a hug yet, cuz." a young woman retorted with a smile. She looked to be in her mid twenties, no more than a couple years older than the twins, and she had the typical black hair cut to her shoulders. However, Lilly didn't recognize her and she had a baby bump under her blouse. Lilly was no expert on pregnancy, but she assumed the woman was a few months away from delivery.

"Sorry, Zoe." Jake smiled at her before pulling her into a gentle hug. When he pulled away he continued to the other two girls who were standing there, "Is it alright if I burrow my sister for a moment? There's someone I need to introduce her to." he asked politely.

One girl laughed while the other one rolled her eyes. They consented, leaving with Zoe and Leah, who must have wanted to catch up with her friends from high school.

"Becks, this is my girlfriend Lilly. Lilly, this is Rebecca." Jake waved between them, one hand resting on Lilly's lower back.

Rebecca smiled at Lilly, hardly even sparing her black eye a glance. She looked identical to Rachel in the face, but her hair was longer, about to the middle of her back. It was in beach waves and a bit lighter in color, probably due to all the sun in Hawaii, which was also probably why her skin looked a couple shades tanner.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you. Jake told me a lot about you." she greeted, offering her hand. Lilly shook it with an embarrassed smile.

"Yeah, he mentioned talking a lot about me in the car." she responded, giving Jake a glance. He didn't look the least bit ashamed or embarrassed about it. "He's also told me a bit about you, too. He mentioned you're an artist."

Rebecca nodded proudly. "Yep. I do a lot of painting, mostly in oils. I co-owned an art gallery in Hawaii and sold my paintings there; while also working part-time in an art museum."

Lilly nodded, impressed. "Wow. That's really cool. Maybe you could show me some of your paintings some time?"

"Yeah, definitely, and you could show me some of those amazing sketches Jake mentioned you do." she added, smirking a bit at her little brother, who looked away in embarrassment. Lilly smiled and nodded. Rebecca finally glanced at the bruise on Lilly's cheek before meeting her eyes again. "So…if you don't mind my asking…what happened there?" she asked, pointing at her cheek.

Rachel and Paul looked away casually and Jake's hand balled into a fist as Lilly looked down at her feet. "Um, well,…just an…accident."

Paul snorted derisively and Rachel backhanded his arm.

Rebecca glanced knowingly at them before looking back at Lilly. "An _accident_ " she repeated slowly, making it clear she didn't believe that for a second.

Lilly sighed heavily, reaching up to brush her hair from her face. She met Rachel's eyes from over her twin's shoulder before she turned back to Rebecca. "I'd really rather not talk about it at the party, but I'm sure Rachel would be more than happy to give you the details later tonight if you really wanted to know."

Rach's eyes lit up and she grinned. "Really? I can tell her?!" she asked excitedly.

Jake smiled, Rebecca laughed, and Lilly gave a weak grin. "Yes you can, just please keep the story as accurate as you can."

Rachel raised at eyebrow at her. "You're one to talk. You better be giving Jacob the _accurate_ version when you tell him later."

"I'd give a more accurate version than Paul would. He'd exaggerate how bad it was." Lilly pointed out, waving her hand toward Paul.

"I would not. I'd be telling the brutal truth, _you'd_ be sugarcoating it." he retorted.

"He's got a point." Jake agreed, throwing his arm over Lilly's shoulder and giving her a look.

"Jacob!" Billy called from across the yard. "Could you come check out Nora's car? She says the engine's been acting up!"

Jake sighed quietly and pecked a kiss to the top of Lilly's head. "I'll see you guys in a little bit." he told them before jogging across the yard.

"Oh, I haven't talked to Aunt Connie yet." Rebecca spoke more to herself when she noticed Connie Littlesea talking to Joy Ateara. "I'll see you later Lilly, and maybe we can talk a bit more?" she asked hopefully.

"Definitely." Lilly nodded with a smile, watching the twins hurry over to talk to their aunt. She almost forgot Paul was still standing next to her until his arm brushed her elbow when he crossed his arms.

"So,…remember that day on the beach when you promised you wouldn't let Jake kill me for imprinting on his sister?"

"Yeah."

"You may need to make that promise again." Paul announced slowly.

It took a moment for the meaning of his words to sink into her brain, but when they did the ice pack slipped from her fingers and hit the ground while her head snapped to the side to stare up at him in shock.

"Are you serious? Who?" she demanded, her eyes scanning the backyard to see if she could spot anyone looking at Rebecca. It wasn't until then that she realized Embry and Quil were no longer in the backyard.

"Well, I'll give you a hint…it ain't Quil." Paul drawled.

Lilly's eyes returned to his face. "Embry?"

"Yep." he nodded.

Lilly released a breath. "Does Jake know?" she asked quietly, looking toward the corner of the house Jake had disappeared around.

"No. He was inside with you when it happened. Rachel knows, though. She didn't notice it when it happened, but I told her a few minutes later. She wasn't sure what to think about it."

Lilly sighed heavily again, leaning down to pick the ice pack up off the ground. "Well, I don't think Jake would be _too_ upset." she started uncertainly, before adding more in a joking tone, "After all, _you_ imprinting on his sister was the worst-case scenario. Embry's a sweetheart, and Jake's best friend."

Paul made a face at her. "Gee, thanks."

Lilly smiled sweetly at him before letting it drop a bit and adding, "Plus, if you think about it, there is one good thing."

"Like what?"

"Well, you know with the whole issue of Embry's biological father?" she asked quietly, "If Embry imprinted on Rebecca, there's no way Billy's his dad. The spirits wouldn't pair brother and sister together."

Paul released a breath. "You have a point."

"So, I've got a few good arguments to keep Jake from murdering his best friend." Lilly finished happily, returning the icepack to her bruise.

 **XXX**

 **This chapter was getting too long, so I split it in half. I'll post the rest of it in a few days.**


	6. Chapter 6

It wasn't long before Sue announced that it was time to eat. Of course, she made the rule that girls had to go through the line first, leaving it unsaid that all pack members had to wait until the end before they went through.

After Lilly went through the line, Rebecca and Rachel waved her over to the table they'd claimed several meters away. She passed the table Billy had claimed, joined by Charlie, Old Quil, Kevin, and Bella. Lilly sat down across from Rachel and was joined moments later by Leah, who sat next to Lilly and across from Rebecca.

"Jake! Come sit with me. We could catch up." Bella suggested as Jake and Paul walked past her. Jake didn't even spare her a glance, keeping his eyes on Lilly's as he continued to their table until he sat down next to her.

Rebecca watched her brother closely as Paul sat across from him, her eye glancing curiously over to where the pale faced brunette was sitting with her father.

"Alright, what was that?" she finally asked.

Jake looked up at her as he lifted his first hamburger. "What was what?" he asked as he took a bite.

" _That_. You had a huge crush on Bella Swan when you were little. You two used to be attached at the hip. But just there you gave her the cold shoulder."

Jake looked down at his plate as he swallowed his bite. "It's a long story, Becks. And I'd rather not get into it right now."

"She's not the same sweet little girl we knew when we were kids, Becca." Rachel put in. "She's…caused some issues the past couple years. I could tell you more later."

"There sure are a lot of things you're telling me later." Becca noted as she ate a chip.

Rachel lifted her face and made eye contact with Lilly. Jake noticed their shared glance, and something felt off about it. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he took in the bruise on her left cheek. He then shifted his eyes to look across the yard at where Bella was picking at her food.

His eyes traveled over her, his keen eyesight picking up every detail, looking for something he felt he was missing. Then, his eyes landed on her right hand, which was lifting her fork to her mouth. He could just barely see a hint of fresh bruising on her knuckles.

A snarl rumbled in his throat, making Paul stiffen and look up at him. Jake turned to look down at Lilly, who was also looking at him.

She must've seen the realization in his eyes, because she bit her lip and looked down.

"Lilly." he spoke sternly, waiting until she looked back up at him before he continued, "It was her, wasn't it?"

Lilly looked down again. "Jake, please calm down." she whispered.

Jake looked across the table at Paul, who met his eyes seriously.

"It was her."

Paul nodded minutely.

Jake gritted his teeth, his eyes traveling back to his imprint. She was looking down at her plate, her hands in her lap. Her could smell her nerves, feel it bubbling up in his own stomach.

He sighed, forcing his wolf down with silent promises to get even with Bella later. Reaching over, he took Lilly's hand in his own, their linked hands resting on her leg. When she peaked nervously up at him, he leaned over and kissed the top of her head.

Whispering into her hair, he told her, "I'll deal with her later. She won't get away with this, but I'm under control, sweetie. I promise. Just eat your food."

Lilly sighed silently, her muscles relaxing at Jake's promise. She gave him a relieved smile before going back to her food.

XXX

After everyone finished eating it was easier for Jake to get a minute alone with his imprint, since everyone was split off and hanging out in different groups. His sisters were talking with several friends and relatives, so he didn't have to worry about Rebecca hearing anything she shouldn't.

He noticed Embry and Quil return just as everyone finished eating. Judging by Embry's tense posture as he headed toward Jake and Lilly, Jake had to guess something was wrong.

"Hey, um, Jake can I talk to you?" he asked nervously, glancing over his shoulder at Quil.

Jake glanced down at Lilly, who was at his side with his arm around her waist. "Um, sure. Does it need to be alone, or can Lilly stay? With Bella here I'd prefer she stay with me."

Embry grinned a tiny bit. "She can stay."

"Great. So, what's wrong?" Jake asked curiously.

Embry swallowed, looking down at his feet, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his cutoffs.

"I, uh,…I imprinted earlier." he admitted quietly.

Jake blinked. "Oh, well, that's great, Em. Who is it?"

Embry peaked nervously up at him. "You're not going to like it."

Jake's smile fell. He racked his brain for a moment, but there was only one person he could think of that he'd be upset about.

He stiffened, instinctively taking a threatening step forward. Lilly wrapped her arm around his stomach to try and hold him back, and Embry ducked his head in submission.

"You _did not_ imprint on Rebecca." he snarled.

Embry trembled, but not from anger like Jake was. It was with fear. "I-I'm sorry, Jake. I swear, I-you know we can't control it." he rambled nervously, peaking up at him. His eyes were pleading with Jake to understand.

"She's going through a freaking divorce, Embry!" Jake snapped, " _And_ she was cheated on, _and_ she's four years older than you, _and_ she's my sister!" he continued, stepping forward again. Lilly tried pulling him back while Quil stepped forward to stand between his two best friends. Luckily, they were close to the trees at the edge of the backyard, so most people couldn't hear or see what was happening.

"Jake, man, don't do this. You know he won't hurt her." Quil reasoned with his hands up.

"Stay away from her." Jake snarled. Embry ducked his head, trying to swallow down the whimper that wanted to escape at his best friend's words.

"Jake." Lilly called him quietly, lifting a hand to his cheek. Jake tried to fight the pull to make eye contact, but eventually failed and looked down at her. "Don't do this, Jake. You know he couldn't control it. He wouldn't hurt Rebecca."

"I don't want her dragged into this." Jake argued.

"I know you don't. But think about it. Rebecca's been really hurt. Being cheated on can do things to a person, make them doubt themselves. It would take someone really special to help Rebecca build up her self-confidence again. No one's saying she has to jump into a relationship fresh out of her marriage, but don't you think Embry would be much better for her than some random guy?"

Jake took a deep breath, his jaw clenching in frustration. After several tense moments, he dragged his eyes from Lilly to Embry.

"What are your feelings for my sister?" he asked seriously.

Embry swallowed and seemed to think over his words. "I…think she's beautiful," he started slowly, "and talented, and funny." he paused before silently figuring he may as well get it all out in the open. Jake would see it all in his head when they phase, anyway. "I used to have a crush on her when we were little. I never told you because I figured it'd be weird and I knew I had no chance with her. I mean, why would she want anything to do with her little brother's scrawny best friend who's also the rez bastard?" he shrugged, looking back down at his feet.

Jake nodded slowly, taking all the information in. "Okay. And what are your intentions with her?"

Embry's eyes lifted again to meet Jake's, all signs of fear or self-pity gone to be replaced by complete sincerity. "I want to be there for her. I want to earn her trust, to let her know that she can come to me with anything. I want to be her friend. I want to show her just how amazing she is and that that asshole who hurt her is the biggest moron on the face of the earth. I want to be with her in whatever way she wants and needs me to be. I just want what's best for her, Jake."

Jake struggled to swallow for a moment before he took a deep breath. "Okay. That's all I need to hear. But I'm warning you, Call. If you hurt my sister anymore than she's already been hurt, I'll rip your tail off and shove it down your throat until it comes out your ass."

Lilly smacked Jake's arm, noticing Embry gulp nervously.

"S-sure thing, Jake."

Jake nodded. "Good. Now, if you two will excuse us, Lilly was just about to tell me, in detail, why Bella punched her in the face." he announced, turning to look down at Lilly, who cringed.

"Well, I don't want to be around for that conversation." Quil announced nervously, dragging Embry back to the party.

Lilly sighed, crossing her arms over her stomach. Jake turned to her and looked down at her expectantly.

"Well? Go ahead, talk." he urged when she didn't start.

"Okay, fine. Um, well Bella arrived with Charlie a little while before you got home. She came over to talk to a group of us who were helping put food out. Bella mostly only greeted Seth. She had a bit of an attitude when she greeted me, and when I responded she commented on how surprised she was that I was still talking. Rachel decided to step in and introduce herself, and finally Leah got sick of all the formalities and asked Bella why she was here. Bella responded that she was invited and before I could stop myself I said 'No you weren't.'.

"Of course, she retaliated by saying she had more of a right to be here than I did since Charlie and Billy are best friends. I responded by saying that I was invited by you, adding an emphasis on the fact that you're my boyfriend." Lilly glanced up to see a smug smile flash on Jake's face for a second. She fought a smile in response as she continued.

"She seemed surprised and disappointed that we're still together, and then she accused me of forbidding you from attending her wedding."

Jake's eyes hardened. "What? I decided that myself, you didn't tell me to do anything."

"That's what I said." Lilly agreed, "Then she went on this rant about how you're her best friend, and of course you'd want to come to her wedding. That transitioned into a rant on imprinting, saying that it's a joke and it makes you think you love me when you're really being forced to. I told her to shut up about things she doesn't understand, as well as pointing out that she has a mate and that she can't have both you and her Cullen. This lead to her snapping and her fist hitting my face. The end." she finished, re-crossing her arms and looking up at Jake expectantly.

Jake's muscles were trembling and he closed his eyes to try and rein in his temper.

"And no one stepped in to do anything about it?" he asked, his voice a low growl.

"Embry, Quil, and Seth stepped in and barely kept Rachel, Paul, and Leah from murdering Bella, but everyone was equally pissed off about it." Lilly's eyes traced Jake's face, taking in how his brows were low over his tightly shut eyes, his jaw clenched, and his nostrils flaring from his deep breathing. Taking a step forward, she rested her right hand on his clothed chest, right over his heart. The trembling ceased almost instantly and one of Jake's hands lifted to cover hers, holding her hand to his heart.

"I'm fine, Jake." she whispered up to him, taking another step closer so their chests were a few inches apart. He sighed, his eyes slowly opening to stare down at her.

"I want to kill her for hurting you." he whispered, lifting his free hand to brush his thumb gently over her bruised cheek.

"That's a bit dramatic, don't you think?" she murmured, her eyes almost falling close at the soothing, warm touch.

"Absolutely not." he murmured in response. "I should consider it a violation of the Treaty."

Lilly gave him a look. "Jacob, it's not even close to a violation. She's not a Cold One and she didn't bite me."

Jake snorted. "She's practically one, she's marrying into it and she's going to be changed. It's a safety hazard. If she's this out of control as a human, how do we know she won't be worse when she's changed? She'll be stronger, faster, and more lethal than the rest of the Cullens for the first year of her change. How do we know she won't pose a threat?" he asked as his hand left her cheek and fell to his side.

"If the Cullens follow the Treaty, they'll leave here before they change her and they'll never come back."

"Oh, yeah, 'cause their record for following the Treaty has been spotless so far." Jake agreed sarcastically, and Lilly couldn't help silently agreeing with him as she remembered the issue with the big Cullen following the redhead across the border that one night several weeks back.

"Just make it clear to them that they aren't welcome back." she suggested hopefully.

Jake sighed, rolling his eyes skyward. Lilly stepped forward shyly, lifting her heels off the ground and bringing her other hand to join the first resting on Jake's chest so she could press a hesitant kiss to the hollow at the base of Jake's neck. He didn't move his head, but he released her hand and moved both of his to her waist to hold her steady. Lilly stretched up a bit higher and tilted her head to kiss the little dip where his jaw met his neck.

Jake groaned, letting his head drop to her shoulder as his arms slid around her waist, pinning her to his chest.

"Must you torture me?" he whined into her neck.

Lilly laughed quietly, wrestling to free her arms from between their chests so she could wrap them around his back, under his arms. "Sorry. Just trying to distract you." she said with a smile, not sounding sorry in the slightest. "You spend too much time being a protector, you need to be a teenage boy a little more often."

Jake chuckled against her neck. "I thought you liked my wolf." he murmured lightly.

"I love your wolf." she corrected, her eyes barely able to peak over his shoulder, "I just don't want you to be too serious all the time. I like it when you smile." she whispered, her head tilted so her cheek could rest against his shoulder.

Jake turned his head and their noses brushed. He smiled. "I love you." he murmured.

"Love you, too." she whispered with a smile, giving him a quick peck on the nose. He chuckled, pulling away until there was some space between their bodies even though his arms didn't let her completely leave.

"I should still talk to her about this." he muttered, tucking some of Lilly's hair behind her ear so he could brush his thumb down her cheek. "Give her a warning or something. This won't be tolerated. She needs to realize her actions have consequences."

Lilly nodded slowly. "I'm not saying I disagree with that, I just don't want you to do something you'll regret. You need to make sure you've got control of your wolf before you consider talking to her. Even if you don't like her, if you lost control and hurt her you'd still feel awful, Jake. You're too kind for it not to effect you if something happened."

Jake sighed, his eyes softening. "Yeah, I suppose you're right about that." his lip twitched in a small smile, "You sure you don't want to be a counselor or therapist? You're pretty good at giving advice on stuff."

Lilly laughed, shaking her head. "No way. Too much schooling for my liking, thank you very much."

"Good point." Jake placed a short kiss on her forehead before taking her hand and heading back toward the party.

As if their earlier conversation had summoned her, Bella intercepted them before they could reach their friends. Jake's hand instinctively tightened around Lilly's, but not enough to hurt.

"Hey, Jake. I haven't had the chance to talk to you, yet." Bella greeted with a small smile, completely ignoring Lilly standing at Jake's side.

"And you'd be smart in continuing that, Bella." Jake answered sternly, drawing himself up to his full height as he stared down at her. "For starters, you weren't invited to this party. I'm also pretty sure I made it clear I didn't want you around when I had Quil drag you from my house the day after the battle. And to top things off,…you _punched_ my mate." he snarled the last four words, taking a threatening step closer before he could stop himself. Lilly tightened her grip on his hand, stepping forward and putting her opposite hand against his chest to try and stop him.

Bella took a hesitant step back, looking shocked and nervous. "Jake, you can't honestly believe her over me. _She's_ the one who was attacking me. She started badmouthing me and she didn't want me to talk to you." she argued in a pathetically weak voice, but Jake could see through it. It was the meek little act she used to make everyone do what she wanted.

"You know, vamp tramp, there was a whole crowd that witnessed you punching Lilly in the face." Paul announced as he came up behind her, turning to stand at Jake's side. Lilly glanced around to see Rachel and Rebecca were watching them, Rachel worriedly and Rebecca curiously, but Embry and Quil quickly distracted them.

"Well, of course all of you would jump to defend her. Everyone in the pack hates me." Bella argued.

"Gee, I wonder why." Paul mocked, "Maybe because you treated Jake like dirt, maybe because you're selfish, or you're a vamp tramp, or you caused a battle that nearly killed some of our own. I could go on if you'd like."

"Paul's point is that one of the pack can easily show me their memory of what happened between you and Lilly, and I'd be able to tell how much of their memory was fact. I could see and hear exactly what happened and what was said." Jake cut in, seeming much calmer now.

Bella swallowed nervously, seeming to realize this conversation wasn't going to go how she wanted.

"Jake, can we please just talk like we used to? I really want you to come to my wedding. Please?" she begged, flashing those doe eyes at him.

Jake narrowed his eyes at her. "If you honestly think I want to go to your wedding to a leech after everything that's happened, you're delusional. I understand you can't necessarily leave right now since Charlie would ask questions, but I want you to stay the hell away from my imprint."

With that, Jake lead Lilly back toward the rest of the people with Paul trailing behind them.

Paul smirked. "That went well."

XXX

Jake waited until his sisters were occupied in Rachel's room and his dad was asleep before grabbing the landline phone off the wall and dialing the number that was kept in one of the kitchen drawers. He held it up to his ear, listening as it only rang once.

"Jacob." the cool voice answered on the other line. Jake grimaced.

"Leech." he responded. "We need to talk."

"About?"

"Why the hell did Bella show up at my house this afternoon?"

There was a brief pause before Edward answered, "I didn't want her to go, but I was hunting with my family and didn't know she went to your house until Alice called me. Why? Was there a problem?"

"Well, I suppose she didn't tell you, considering it may make her look bad that she punched another girl in the face for telling her off." Jake answered sarcastically into the phone, leaning his shoulder against the wall.

"What? That's not possible. She would never do that." Edward denied.

"I'm sure Seth or one of the other _four_ wolves that witnessed it would be more than happy to play it back for you." Jake answered. "I don't care if she's your fiancé or mate or whatever, this will not happen again. You need to get her under control. Why the hell do you put up with her? The fact that she's practically been throwing herself at me now that I'm with someone, why do you tolerate that?"

It was silent for a few moments before Edward answered. "I can't lose her again, Jacob. Leaving her was the biggest mistake of my life, and I'd do whatever it takes to keep her in my life from now on. If that means accepting her with her faults as well, then I'll do it."

"Punching a girl over another guy is not simply a 'fault'."

"Her feelings for you aren't romantic, Jacob. Yes, she loves you, but not the same way as she loves me. You helped her out of a dark place, somewhere I put her, and she wants you in her life. I'm willing to deal with it if it means having her in my life. Are you saying you wouldn't do the same for your mate?"

"I love Lilly, and she loves me. If she wanted to be with someone else, I don't know, I might step back and let her be with another guy, if he would truly make her happier than I could. I would never sit back and watch her throw herself at another guy the way Bella's been doing, and I wouldn't expect Lilly to let me do that, either. If you really want to let her do that, that's your decision, but I don't want her near me, my reservation, or more importantly, my imprint.

"Which brings me to my next subject. The Treaty. I want to remind you that your whole coven better be gone before you change Bella." Jake continued, peaking around the corner when he heard a _thump_ followed by two sets of hysterical laughter in his sister's room. "Once you bite her, the Treaty is void and you will all be treated the same as any nomad that comes through the area. You will no longer be allowed in the area without threat of a war, and you can never return."

"Yes, Jacob, I know what the Treaty says." Edward agreed dryly, "I was there when it was written. You have nothing to worry about. We plan to change Bella within the next few months, there's a few things she wants to do first. We plan to be long gone before she's changed, and we're going to sell the house and never return. You have my word."

"Good." Jake growled before hanging up the phone.


	7. Chapter 7

A few days later found most of the pack and imprints at Sam and Emily's. Emily was working at the kitchen, Rachel, Paul, Jared, Kim, Lilly, and Jake sitting at the kitchen table while Sam stood near the counter close to Emily.

"Hey Rach, where's Rebecca?" Kim asked curiously from her spot on Jared's lap.

"Her and Leah wanted to hang out today, so they went for a day trip to Port Angeles." Rachel answered as she ate a cookie in her hand.

"Why didn't you go?" Jared asked curiously.

"I had a job interview earlier this morning when they were leaving, so I had to pass."

"What'd you interview for?" Kim asked excitedly.

Paul smirked. "She won't tell you; believe me, I've tried everything to get the answer out of her. She wants to keep all her job applications secret until she actually gets a job."

"It's at least nearby, right?" Jake asked anxiously.

Rachel shrugged. "I've only applied for a couple places, the farthest one is in Port Angeles. Most of them are in La Push or Forks."

The wolves shifted nervously.

"Is there anyway you'd consider the ones in La Push?" Jake asked hesitantly.

Rachel eyed him curiously. "Well, I'd prefer that one, but if they don't want me, they don't want me. Why?"

"We'd just prefer to be able to get to your workplace should we need to. If it's in Forks we technically can't cross the border." Paul answered quietly, wary of making his imprint upset.

Rachel glanced between Paul and her brother. "Well, like I said I'll try, but I can't really make any promises."

They nodded silently, letting the subject drop.

Quiet conversation continued between those in the kitchen and the group in the living room for another few minutes before Lilly felt Jake stiffen next to her. She noticed the subtle glance he shared with Sam, and then Paul and Jared.

Jake turned and pressed a kiss to Lilly's cheek. "Sweetie, I think I'm gonna go for a run. Stretch my legs a bit, you know." he shrugged as he slowly stood up. "You guys wanna go for a run?" he asked the room at large.

Paul and Sam nodded while Jared shrugged and stood up, slipping Kim onto the seat he vacated. They all kissed their significant others before leaving the house, followed by the entire pack.

When the house was completely empty apart from Emily, Kim, Lilly, and Rachel; Lilly turned to look among the girls. "Am I the only one who thought that was weird?"

Rachel and Kim slowly shook their heads while Emily continued cooking.

"Do they do that often?" Rachel asked quietly, still a bit new to the ways of the pack.

"Not like that." Kim answered hesitantly. "I'm not sure how to describe it, but something about that felt really off."

Emily slowly peaked over her shoulder at them as they turned to look up at her. "I think…For some reason the way they left just now…it felt an awful lot like the way they leave when something happens. Like if there's a new wolf or a vampire in the area. Did any of you hear a howl before they all left?"

Everyone shook their heads, not having heard anything.

"But even if it's a vampire they're not all secretive about it. They're usually quick and even a bit excited about a good chase. And then when they come back they're cheering and excited about having caught it." Kim countered in concern.

"They did this the other day, too." Emily announced quietly.

Rachel and Lilly exchanged a worried glance.

"Maybe we could ask them when they get back?" Rachel asked uncertainly.

Emily sighed, shaking her head as she turned around to face them. "I doubt you'll get anything out of them. I tried asking Sam about it last night, because I could feel that something was wrong. But he was locked up tight as a drum. He wouldn't tell me anything."

The other three sighed in disappointment, looking down at the tabletop.

Rachel's eyes lifted slowly, glancing around at the other girls. "What if…" she started slowly, "one of us, I don't know,… _seduced_ the answer out of them?"

They all looked at her in confusion or bewilderment.

"What do you mean _'seduce'_?" Kim asked, mildly disturbed.

Rachel rolled her eyes at the shyer girl. "You know, seduce: to persuade somebody into doing or giving something, usually using a romantic or deceptive approach."

Emily smacked Rachel with a dish towel. "We know what it means, Rachel. What makes you think that would even work?"

Rachel smirked up at her. "Well, despite being supernatural wolves, they're also hot-blooded males that have sex appeal to spare. If you know precisely which buttons to push, you could get just about any answer you want out of them."

"Okay, so why don't you seduce Paul?" Lilly suggested, not feeling comfortable with the idea of trying to seduce Jake. She'd probably be too uncomfortable and twitchy. He'd see right through it.

Rachel ducked her head sheepishly, biting her bottom lip. "Oh, well,…I don't think that'd be a good idea."

"Why not?" Emily asked, sitting down at the table next to her.

Rachel glanced at her before sighing. "Well, we both agreed it'd be best if we went slow, since I have some…insecurities." she started, glancing at Lilly across the table. "We haven't even really made out or anything, which I know frustrates him a bit, even though he won't admit it or push for more. He understands why I'm unsure about that stuff. I don't want to send mixed signals and confuse him, which would probably lead to a lot of issues later on."

The other three girls nodded in understanding. "Okay, so you're out of the question. Kim?" Lilly asked, turning to look at the other girl.

Kim's eyes widened. "Me? Are you nuts? I can barely instigate a make out session with Jared without feeling completely awkward. He usually has to push me to instigate it. If I even tried to seduce him he'd know something was up, _and_ I'd probably completely screw it up." she blushed and looked at her fingers atop the table, "It's usually him that manages to seduce me, to be honest."

The other girls muffled their laughter at the light blush spreading over Kim's cheeks.

"Alright, fair point. Emily?" Rachel turned back to the older girl.

Emily grimaced. "I doubt it would work. Sam's very…well, you girls know what Sam's like. He's very…dominant." she blushed a bit, "Especially,…in the bedroom."

When her meaning processed in their minds, Rachel smirked while Kim and Lilly grimaced and covered their ears.

"Agh! I didn't need to know that!" Lilly whined, closing her eyes to try and ward off the mental images of Sam and Emily…EW!

Rachel cackled at their reactions. "I should've seen that one coming. Oh well. I guess that just leaves you, Lilly."

Lilly's eyes flew open and her hands fell from her ears to hit the tabletop with a dull thud.

"Wait, huh? No, I-I don't think-"

"Oh, come on Lilly!" Rachel pleaded. "You're the only one who's got a chance."

"She's got a point." Emily put in, "Jake's like putty in your hands. All it takes is one touch from you and he'll do anything you ask."

"And I know you're far enough in your relationship to pull it off." Rachel smirked deviously at her, "I caught a glimpse of you two on the couch yesterday."

Lilly blushed heavily while Emily and Kim turned to look at her in surprise.

"W-we were just…making out." she stuttered defensively.

"It's fine if you're not comfortable with it, Lilly. You don't have to if you don't want to." Emily assured her.

Rachel pouted. "But how are we supposed to find out what's going on? The guys most likely aren't going to tell us. And if we all start asking they'd be suspicious and then Lilly wouldn't be able to succeed."

"I don't even know the first thing about seducing a guy." Lilly whined. "And I don't think Jake's ever had the need to seduce me, so I don't have any example to go off of."

"Easy. I'll explain it to you." Rachel answered as if it were no big deal.

Lilly swallowed nervously. She had the slightest suspicion this wasn't going to go well.

XXX

Lilly sighed anxiously, pacing back and forth in her bedroom. It had been a couple days since Rachel came up with the insane idea to seduce one of the guys into giving some answers. They'd decided as a group to wait a day or two to see if any of the guys brought it up on their own, but after more than twenty-four hours of no answers and more weird behavior, Rachel finally convinced Lilly to give it a try. The worst that could happen is she fails at getting answers and makes a complete idiot of herself, right?

Something flashed outside Lilly's window and she turned to look outside. She could just see the outlines of the trees and bushes at the edge of the forest behind her house. She leaned a bit closer to her window, her breath fogging the glass as she squinted into the darkness. She could've sworn she could see a light, almost glowing figure among the trees.

"Goodnight, Lilly!" her Gran called down the hall, making Lilly jump and look over her shoulder.

"Night, Gran! Love you!" she called back before turning back to the window, but the figure was gone. She frowned thoughtfully. That seemed weird. She was probably seeing things.

A pair of eyes suddenly appeared before her and she gasped, jerking back from the window. The frame squeaked as it was pushed up and Jake slipped inside.

Lilly released her breath, her hand on her chest.

"You okay?" Jake asked with a smirk, his eyes tense as they trailed over her body.

Lilly swallowed and gave him a shaky smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. You just spooked me a bit. Were-were you out there in the bushes just now?" she asked nervously.

Jake glanced over his shoulder before shaking his head. "Naw, Leah's patrolling right now. You probably just saw her light fur."

Lilly nodded slowly. "Oh, okay."

Jake's eyes scanned over her face intensely for several moments before stepping closer and brushing her hair back from her face. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked gently. "You seem a bit jumpy."

She laughed quietly. "I'm fine, Jake. You just startled me when you came out of nowhere. I promise I'm okay." she stepped closer and stretched up, giving him a slow kiss and letting the whole front of her body press to his. Jake's hands rested lightly on her hips as he returned the kiss.

She pulled away slowly, letting one of her hands trail lightly down his chest and stomach, her fingers bumping over the toned ridges of his abs. She smiled up at him before pulling away from him and heading toward her drawer.

"So, what's up?" she asked casually as she shifted through her drawer. She heard her bed creak as he sat on it.

"Nothing really. Just needed to get out of the house. Paul came over. He's been spending nights at my house, in Rachel's room. They don't do anything, thank God, but I can still hear some of the things they say, and I'd rather not."

Lilly grinned a bit as she pulled out a tank top and cotton shorts. "So you're staying tonight?"

"If that's okay. If you'd rather I didn't-"

"No, I'd like you to stay." she interrupted quickly. She took a quick, steadying breath before doing one of the things Rachel had suggested.

Hesitantly, she lifted her T-shirt up and over her head, tossing it across the room toward the laundry basket, leaving her standing in her shorts and bra. The room suddenly felt silent and thick with tension, the only sound being her heart pounding in her ears. Her fingers shook minutely as she undid the button on her denim shorts, reminding herself it was the same as a swimsuit as they slid down her legs so she could step out of them.

She tried not to hurry as she stepped into her cotton shorts and pulled them on. She then pulled her tank top over her head, pulling her hair out of the back of the shirt. She reached her hand up under the back of her tank top, her fingers fumbling for a second as she unhooked her cotton bra. The straps slid down her arms and she reached down the front of her tank top to pull it out, making sure Jake caught a glimpse of it as she put it back in the drawer.

She paused when the sound of a low rumbling reached her ears. It took her a second to place it, and when she did she wasn't sure if it was good or bad. Jacob was growling.

Taking another deep breath, she moved to pick up the shorts and T-shirt that didn't make it to the laundry basket, tossing them in before her eyes finally traveled to her bed.

Jake was sitting up against the headboard, watching her intensely, his eyes following her as she moved. She was too shy from her actions to meet his gaze, instead staring at her sheets as she climbed onto the bed next to him. She scooted closer until she was nestled into his side, her arm draped over his bare stomach.

"So, did you do anything interesting today?" Lilly asked casually, letting her thumb brush over the bumps of his ribcage.

Jake shifted a tiny bit before answering, "Um, no not really. Just ran my usual patrol and did some tinkering on the Rabbit. What did you do all day?"

Lilly shrugged, keeping her eyes on her hand as she traced her fingers along the ridges of his abs. "Hung out with Kim at Emily's for a little bit, then I went and hung out at the beach with Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah."

Jake ran his hand down Lilly's back, slipping his hand just under the hem of her tank top to brush his thumb over her back. "So, you like my sisters?" he checked quietly.

Lilly smiled. "Obviously. I wouldn't be spending so much time with them if I didn't, Jake."

"Good point." he murmured, watching her finger as she ran it down his stomach, her nail tickling and making his skin break out in goose bumps. He had to suppress a shiver at the feeling. Finally, he caught her hand in his and pinned it to his stomach. "Alright, what's up? You're acting…different tonight."

"Different?" she asked, pretending to be confused, but Jake saw through it.

"Yes, different." he confirmed slowly. "You're more touchy right now and just a minute ago you stripped in front of me."

She looked down shyly. "Do you not want me to do that?" she asked quietly, her voice sounding insecure.

Jake released her hand and brought his up to her chin, lifting it up to look her in the eyes. "I didn't say that. It just caught me off guard. I didn't even hardly see anything, Flower, but what I did see…it got my imagination going." he admitted quietly.

Lilly ducked her head shyly, trying to remain calm. "I just…if I'd gone to the bathroom to change, Gran would've heard me from her room, and she would've wondered why I was changing in the bathroom. I just didn't want her coming in here and making you leave." she whispered, not entirely lying, but not being completely honest, either.

"I suppose that makes sense." Jake whispered, brushing Lilly's hair back from her face, his knuckles trailing down her cheek that still had the healing bruise from Rebecca's welcome home party.

Lilly peaked up at him, biting her lip nervously. Rachel had said the best thing she could do was to catch him off guard, to _turn him on_. She wasn't completely sure how to do that, so she'd just stick with what she was comfortable with.

Lilly leaned up on her elbow and pressed a kiss against his jaw before moving to press one to his neck, right over his pulse. She felt his heartbeat pick up under her lips, his smooth, warm skin pressing repeatedly against her skin. Using her hand atop his chest, she lifted herself up just enough to press a kiss to his lips.

Jake moved his hand to Lilly's waist, helping to hold her up as he returned her kiss heatedly, his other hand threading into her hair at the back of her head. Lilly was trying to figure out where to put her other hand and her knees when suddenly she was spinning. Jake flipped them over so she was underneath and he was crouching over her, an amazing feat given how small her bed was.

Lilly fisted Jake's hair in one hand, the other slipping under his arm to claw at his back in an attempt to pull him closer. Jake held himself up with his elbow by Lilly's head, his other hand raking down her side to grip her hip.

Lilly would've happily continued like that if her lungs hadn't started burning for oxygen. She pulled away, gasping for air. Expecting Jake to do the same, Lilly gasped when she felt his heated lips at her neck, kissing and licking down to her shoulder. He nipped at her shoulder, making her grip on his hair tighten at the sensation, before he started making his way back up her neck.

Jake seemed to settle on one spot of Lilly's neck, nipping, licking, and sucking on a spot that was just below her pulse point and a little toward the back of her neck. Lilly's eyes closed in bliss, all thoughts of Rachel's plan completely wiped from her mind as Jake latched onto her neck, his tongue lashing at her skin.

Suddenly, Jake froze, his whole body going stiff. Lilly waited for him to continue, or pull away, but he just stayed there, crouching over her with his mouth fused to her neck. Then, his body started trembling. Lilly blinked her eyes open to see Jake's eyes clenched shut as if he were in pain.

She swallowed anxiously. She didn't think that was a normal thing to do during a make out session. But before she could call his name, Jake lurched back, rising up on his knees.

"Jake?" she asked quietly, leaning up on her elbows.

Jake's chest and shoulders were heaving with each breath, his nostrils flaring and eyes a golden yellow. Lilly hesitantly reached one hand for his. Just as her fingers grazed his he blinked, his eyes slowly turning back to his usual dark brown.

"Jake?" she repeated worriedly. He didn't respond, his dark eyes flicking about almost frantically. After several moments, he swallowed thickly and got up from the bed.

"I, uh,…I need to go do something." he muttered distractedly, heading for her window.

"In the middle of the night?" Lilly whispered doubtfully, pushing herself into a sitting position. Jake merely nodded, pushing her window open. But Lilly didn't want him to leave like this. She didn't want him to leave at all, but especially not like this. She felt like she did something wrong, or in the very least something happened to Jake and now he felt lost and confused. Whatever it was, she didn't want him to leave while they were feeling like this.

"I love you." she called quietly before he climbed out her window.

Jake froze for a few seconds before he slowly looked back at her. He searched her eyes for a few seconds before his own softened.

"I love you more, Flower. I'll see you in the morning, I promise." he assured her gently.

Lilly nodded as he slipped out into the night. It hadn't been the response she'd been hoping for, but it was better than him simply leaving without a word. Sighing quietly, Lilly scooted down into the bed, pulled her blanket up to her chin, and tried to fall asleep.

 **XXX**

 **Ooh, I wonder what's wrong with Jake?! Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter. I've never really written that intense of a make out scene, if you can even call that intense, so hopefully it wasn't too awkward. If I write any more in the future it won't be any more than that, so no sex scenes if any of you were wondering that.**


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Jake didn't come to pick Lilly up from her house like he normally did. So, she just walked to Sam and Emily's house on her own. She arrived just as most people were finishing their breakfast.

"Hey, Lilly." Emily smiled at her, "I saved you some scrambled eggs and bacon if you're hungry."

Lilly smiled. "Thanks, Emily." she sat down next to Rachel as Emily placed the plate on the table. The few guys that were still in the kitchen, Jared, Embry, Brady, and Collin, moved into the living room to do something.

She glanced up and met Rachel's eyes.

"So?" she whispered almost silently. Lilly just shook her head, looking back down at her food.

"'No' you didn't try, or 'no' it didn't work?" she pushed in confusion.

Lilly sighed, resting her cheek on her fist, her elbow on the tabletop. "It didn't work." she whispered.

Rachel looked her over worriedly. Something felt off about how Lilly was acting. "What happened?" she asked in concern.

Lilly shrugged. "I don't know. We were, you know…making out," she whispered, "and then suddenly he lurched away from me. I think his wolf was on the surface, his eyes were golden yellow. And then he said he needed to go do something, and then he just left out my window."

Rachel and Emily exchanged a worried glance.

"He didn't give you an explanation or anything?" Kim asked, completely confused.

Lilly shook her head, her eyes burning as she forced her tears back. "I don't think I did anything wrong, but…I just don't know what happened. And he's never left like that before. That…abruptly. I just don't know." she whispered, trying not to let her tears show in her voice.

"Maybe if his wolf really was close to the surface, he didn't want to risk hurting you." Emily suggested softly.

Lilly thought about it. "Maybe. But I like his wolf. He knows that."

The girls exchanged worried glances around the table, not realizing Paul was standing just past the doorway between the living room and the kitchen. The girls were talking quiet enough that the guys in the living room couldn't hear them, but Paul could.

A low growl rumbled in Paul's chest as he turned and marched out the back door, towards where Sam and Jake were standing outside. They seemed to be both discussing and arguing about something, which they had been doing since sunup.

When he was several feet away they turned to look at him.

"Black, you better get your ass in there and talk to your imprint, now." Paul snapped angrily.

Jake's back straightened, his body on high alert. "Why? What's wrong?"

"'What's wrong'?" Paul repeated in a snarl. "What's wrong is that she's in there with the other girls, completely lost and thinking she did something wrong with you last night because you left so abruptly. What the hell is your problem?" he growled, shoving Jake's shoulder.

Jake looked worriedly at his Alpha. "Sam?" he pleaded.

Sam sighed. "I really think you should tell her, Jake."

Jake shook his head. "I don't want to. She's not ready for that. I don't want to do it."

"I understand that, Jake. But she at least deserves to know why you left her last night." Sam explained.

Jake thought it over for a moment, completely at war with himself. "I'm not going to tell her any details." he decided quietly.

Sam sighed wearily. "If that's what you want, I won't push you. But the wolf's never wrong, Jake. If he's pushing you to do it, you may want to think about it."

Jake nodded slowly, if only to pacify his Alpha so he could go talk to his imprint.

"Wait, what the hell happened? She said your wolf was close to the surface." Paul asked, totally confused.

Jake ignored him, letting Sam brush the question off while he hurried into the house. He passed through the living room, ignoring his pack brothers watching TV, and paused just in the doorway to the kitchen. Rachel looked up and met his eyes before looking back down at Lilly, whose back was to him in her seat.

Lilly heard someone enter the kitchen and subtly wiped under her eyes, brushing away any possible tears that may have escaped.

Jake stepped up behind her and kissed the top of her head, rubbing his hands over her shoulders as he leaned down to put his lips at her ear.

"Hey, can we talk outside?" he asked gently. Lilly nodded quietly in answer.

Jake stood up straight and gave the other girls a smile. "We're gonna step outside and talk for a minute, if that's okay."

They nodded as Lilly stood from her chair, stepping aside to push it back under the table. Rachel met Jake's eyes as the couple headed for the door, the glint in her dark brown eyes threatening to castrate him if he hurt the young girl.

Jake lead Lilly out onto the front porch of the small house. He sat down on the porch steps and gently grabbed Lilly's hips to sit her down on his lap, her legs straddling his waist. She furrowed her brow down her the position.

"You sure like having me sit like this, don't you?" she commented casually. Jake gave a small grin in response.

"This way I know you're paying attention." he quipped, running one thumb over her hipbone. Lilly nodded, her eyes still trained down at his bare abs. Another day he'd tease her for checking him out, but her eyes were blank and she was lost in her own thoughts. Jake sighed, moving one hand to rest on the side of her neck, his thumb tilting her chin up to look at him. "A little wolf told me you were upset."

Lilly's eyes moved down since he held her face immobile. "I'm not upset." she argued quietly.

"Lilly." Jake tilted his head so he could look her in the eye. "I'm sorry I hurt you last night. I swear you did nothing wrong, sweetie."

Her eyes glistened for a second before she blinked it away. "Then why'd you leave like that?"

Jake sighed, slipping his arms around the small of her back to pull her closer, their faces inches apart. "I left because if we'd continued like that it would've been very hard for me to stop later. It was hard enough to stop in that moment, I don't know if I'd be able to if we kept going."

Lilly looked at him in confusion, searching his eyes for more answers. "What do you mean?"

Jake sucked in a deep breath of her scent through his nose. "It's…difficult to explain." he knew by her expression he wouldn't get away with that stupid response, so he continued, "It's a wolf thing. I'd rather not get into it right now, because I know you're not ready for it. It's just that…my wolf was fighting to keep going."

Lilly sat in silence as she registered his words. "You mean,…he-he wanted to…"

Jake looked down. "Yeah. He wanted to…mate with you. I don't want to talk about any specifics or details, but I left because I know you're not ready for that. Heck, _I'm_ not even ready for that. And it was difficult to tear myself away from you then, it would've been next to impossible to stop if we'd kept going for even just a few more minutes."

Lilly nodded, lifting one hand to rest her arm over his shoulder, letting her fingers run through his hair. "So,…I didn't do anything wrong?" she checked.

Jake looked up and met her eyes seriously. "Absolutely not." he paused, then smirked sheepishly, "Well, you weren't exactly helping, either. I mean, you did kind of strip on front of me, and then the way you were touching me…" he trailed off, lifting one hand to run his fingers through her hair and down her back, "That certainly didn't help."

Lilly blushed, ducking her face in embarrassment. "Sorry." she muttered.

Jake chuckled, leaning his forehead against hers. "Don't be. I certainly didn't mind it. Though I would like to know what the heck that was. What got into you last night?"

Lilly bit her lip, unsure if she should say. "You may not like it." she muttered.

Jake pulled back to kiss her hairline before replacing his forehead against hers. "I won't be mad, Flower. I promise."

"Well, all us imprints know that you guys are hiding something from us. So, Rachel came up with this idea…"

"Oh no." Jake groaned, moving to bury his face in her neck. "Please don't tell me _my sister_ caused everything that happened last night."

Lilly forced down an embarrassed giggle, biting her lip for a moment. "Well,…she thought that maybe one of us could… _seduce_ the answer out of one of you."

Jake stayed still for a moment before he slowly pulled away and looked down at her with a blank expression. "Seduce?"

Lilly nodded worriedly. "Yeah, but it was decided that Kim's too awkward, Sam's too dominant, and Rachel doesn't want to send mixed signals. So they voted that I give it a try." she explained quickly in one breath.

Jake blinked, nodding slowly. "Okay…I'm not completely sure what any of that actually means, but…you were trying to seduce me?" he ended in an amused voice, trying to suppress his laughter.

Lilly groaned, leaning forward to hide her face in his neck. "Shut up. I told Rachel I couldn't do it."

"Where did you even learn to seduce someone?" Jake asked curiously, still completely amused at the situation as he ran his hand down her back again.

"Rachel taught me." she mumbled.

Jake's hand paused for a second before continuing. "I don't even want to _think_ about how my sister knows how to do that." he mumbled before turning his head so he could bury his face in Lilly's hair, kissing her neck. He stayed there for a moment before leaning back and using his hand to brush Lilly's hair from her neck, revealing a large, purple hickey on her skin.

He took a deep breath through his nose as he brushed his thumb over the mark. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asked worriedly, his eyes flying to her face as she tilted her head to look at him.

Lilly shook her head. "No, you didn't hurt me. It-it actually felt good." she blushed, looking down to avoid his eyes.

Jake smirked weakly before looking back down at the vicious-looking mark. He wasn't an expert on hickeys, but he wasn't sure if he liked seeing one on his mate, even if it was from him. His wolf liked it, knowing she was marked in any way by him, but Jake wasn't so sure yet. Though, if she said it felt good, it couldn't be all bad, right?

Jake pecked a short kiss on the hickey before pulling back and tucking some hair behind Lilly's ear.

"I really am sorry for how I left last night." he whispered.

"Don't be. Now that I know why, I know I was overreacting. It was just a silly girl reaction." Lilly shook her head with a small smile.

Jake smiled in return. "Still, I'll try not to leave like that ever again, but if I do, just know that it's not you. It's never you."

Lilly smiled sweetly. "Thanks." she pressed a short, sweet kiss to his lips before pulling away so they could go back inside.

XXX

Later in the afternoon, Lilly and Rachel met Rebecca at the beach to hang out.

"You know what we should do? We need a girls day." Rebecca announced randomly as they waded through the water.

Rachel and Lilly exchanged a bemused expression. "Um, what do you call this?" Rachel asked, kicking water at her sister.

"This is more just us hanging out. What we need is a fun, full-day activity that will give us plenty of time and privacy to properly get to know each other."

"I assume you're referring more to getting to know me, since you and Rachel know each other pretty well." Lilly noted with a grin.

Becca rolled her eyes with a grin. "Obviously. Plus, I'll be starting my new job at a diner next week, Rachel will probably get a job by the end of summer, and you'll be back in school, too. So, we need to just have a day doing something we'll all enjoy."

Rachel shrugged. "What about a daytrip to Port Angeles? There's plenty to do down there."

Lilly shrugged agreeably while Rebecca grimaced.

"Nah. Ooh, I know!" Rebecca bounced in place, causing the water to splash around her, "Let's go hiking! Come on, Rach, we used to go hiking all the time! And I haven't gone since I moved away!"

Rachel looked over at Lilly, silently asking her opinion. "It could be fun." she shrugged.

Lilly chewed her lip, unsure.

"Haven't you ever gone hiking, Lilly?" Becca asked curiously.

"Of course, but…well, we're not really supposed to go in the woods anymore. There've been…animal attacks." Lilly answered, looking at Rachel in a silent plea to back her up.

Rachel grimaced a tiny bit. "That's true…lots of hikers were killed last year…but there haven't been many deaths recently." she finished, completely dashing Lilly's hopes of having her on her side. Rachel knew full well those 'animal attacks' were the redhead and her newborns, and that they'd 'stopped' because they were all destroyed. But the pack still didn't want them wandering around in the woods.

"Your dad, Jake, and the council wouldn't like it." Lilly added in a last-stitch effort to prevent this from happening.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Well, Jake and his friends have been pretty good at keeping secrets lately, haven't they? So, since they're not going to tell us what's going on, why can't we have our own little secret?"

Rebecca looked curious as to what her sister was talking about, but decided to save asking for another time.

"I'm pretty sure you just want to do this because you're mad at Paul because you ran into one of his old _conquests_ at the diner the other day." Lilly retorted.

"That's besides the point." Rachel dismissed before pleading, "Come on, Lilly. Don't you want to go for a hike? It'll be so much fun."

Lilly sighed. She had to admit, going for a hike would be really fun.

"Okay, fine."

"And we won't tell the guys about it." Rachel decided with a smirk.

Lilly grimaced. "Rach, I don't know about that."

"Oh, come on, we don't have to lie or anything. Just tell them we're going to have a girls day. We don't have to say what we're going to do."

Finally, Lilly sighed in defeat, despite knowing this wouldn't end well. "Okay, I'm in."


	9. Chapter 9

The next day, just before nine in the morning, Lilly made the short walk to the Blacks' house dressed in a blue zip-up sweatshirt over a gray T-shirt, a worn pair of jeans, and tennis shoes with a backpack on her back. When she reached the house she knocked twice on the door before pushing it open and walking in. She came over so often that Jake, and even Billy, had told her she was welcome and didn't need to knock whenever she came over.

Rachel was sitting on the couch, pulling her hair back into a braid, leaving the end of her hair a few inches shorter than her natural length. She looked over her shoulder as she tied it off and smiled at Lilly.

"Hey."

"Hey." Lilly smiled back as she approached the couch, pulling her backpack off and plopping it down on the couch next to Rachel.

"You got what we asked for?" Rachel asked cryptically, a small smirk spreading over her lips. Lilly rolled her eyes as she nodded. It was decided Lilly would be in charge of bringing snacks and a couple flashlights with extra batteries, just in case. Rachel was in charge of bringing a map and water bottles; and Rebecca was supposed to bring a first aid kit and a roll of toilet paper. When she mentioned toilet paper, Rachel and Lilly gave her weird looks, to which she had replied, "Excuse me if the idea of wiping my privates with leaves doesn't hold any appeal". And of course, all of them were bringing their cell phones, and Rebecca was bringing her camera to take pictures so she could have some references for a few new paintings later.

"What are you girls going to be up to all day?" a familiar, deep voice asked as Jake's arms wrapped around Lilly's waist from behind, his chin dropping to rest on her shoulder.

Rachel grinned at her brother. "Just a girls day. Whatever that may lead us to." she answered with a shrug.

Jake narrowed his eyes. "Why does that concern me?"

Rachel mock-gasped. "You don't trust me with the center of your world?" she waved a hand at Lilly, who looked down to hide her embarrassed smile.

Jake fought a grin, turning his head to kiss the spot where Lilly's jaw met her neck. "I trust you enough to leave her with you. Believe me, that says a lot." his eyes flicked to the backpack sitting on the couch. "What's in the backpack?"

Lilly's eyes flew to Rachel, trying to keep down her panic.

"Just some stuff we need for our girls day. Why? You want us to paint your nails?" she teased.

Jake grimaced. "No thanks. I've gotta get going anyway. My shift starts in a few minutes."

All amusement fell from Rachel's face and her expression became one of suspicion and confusion. "But…Leah said her shift started at nine. Why are you two patrolling together? I thought patrols had been knocked down to one person per shift."

Lilly's brows also furrowed, looking over her shoulder at Her Wolf's expression.

Jake avoided their eyes, but he did it pretty subtly, ducking his face to kiss Lilly's shoulder as he gave a shrug. "Sam just wanted to change patrols a bit."

Their bond burned slightly, enough that Lilly knew he wasn't being completely honest, but he wasn't flat out lying, either.

Lilly swallowed, but leaned the side of her head against his. "Well, you better get going so she doesn't rip into you for being late."

Jake smiled appreciatively at her. "I guess so. You girls have fun today. I'll see you later."

"Love you." Lilly kissed his cheek just before he pulled away.

Jake smirked. "Love you, too." And then he gently grabbed the back of her head in his hand and pulled her close for a kiss. It lasted a little longer than their normal goodbye kisses, especially considering his sister was in the room, but in that moment Lilly wasn't complaining.

Jake pulled back several moments later, cocky smirk spread over his lips as he took in her slightly dazed expression and mildly swollen lips. She swallowed and licked her lips as she peaked up at him. Jake gave her one more short kiss before pulling away.

"Bye, Flower." he whispered in her ear before turning and leaving the house.

Lilly stood there in a daze for a moment before a voice pulled her from it.

"Wow." Rebecca was standing in the hallway toward their bedrooms. "I didn't know little brother had that in him." She smirked as she entered the living room.

"You don't know the half of it." Rachel smirked in return, meeting Lilly's eyes with a teasing glint.

Rebecca had her long, wavy hair pulled into a high ponytail with a light blue headband, wearing a lightweight hoodie of the same color, and tan shorts that went to her knees. Rachel was dressed similarly, except her hoodie was gray and her shorts were shorter and black.

Lilly rolled her eyes, trying to gain some control. "Whatever." she wanted to ask if they were ready to leave, but she wasn't sure if Jake was still within hearing distance.

Rebecca smirked. "I just need to put these in my bag and I should be ready to go." she announced, holding up a roll of toilet paper and a first aid kit. She went back into her room and came out a minute later with a backpack on. "Okay, I'm ready whenever you two are."

Lilly pulled her hair up into a ponytail before grabbing her backpack. "I'm ready." she nodded as Rachel followed her lead, pulling her backpack on.

"Great, lets go." Rebecca grinned, leading the way out the back door. They crossed the backyard to a small break in the trees that opened up to a worn trail. They walked in a comfortable silence for a while before Becca glanced over her shoulder. "So, Lilly, when did you get that hickey on your neck?"

Lilly choked on her own spit and coughed a few times before she could splutter out a, "What?"

"You know, a hickey, a mark on your skin, typically made by someone sucking and biting on the same spot for a while? You've got a pretty big one right there." Becca smirked over her shoulder as they walked.

Lilly glared up at Rachel, who was about an inch taller. She wasn't even trying to hide her laughter. Finally, Lilly muttered, "The other night."

"Ooh, and did you sneak over to our place, or did Jake sneak into yours?" Becca continued, clearly enjoying watching Lilly squirm.

Lilly blushed, looking at the ground as she walked. "He came over to my house the other night and climbed in my bedroom window." she peaked up and smirked at Rachel. "But he only did it because he could hear Paul in Rachel's bedroom."

Rachel's jaw dropped, her expression a mixture of shock and mock betrayal. "We didn't do anything! We were just talking!" she argued.

"You sure about that, Rach?" Becca asked, turning around to walk backward so she could see her sister's reaction.

Rachel glared at her twin. "Well,…okay, we cuddled…and kissed _a little bit_ , but we didn't do anything bad!" she glared over at Lilly beside her and muttered, "Traitor."

Lilly raised her hands in surrender, laughing, "Hey, I didn't say what you were doing! I just told you why Jake came over in the first place."

Rachel tried to keep up her glare, but in the end she cracked and laughed along with them. When the path widened out a couple feet, Rebecca fell back so they could all walk side-by-side, Rachel in the middle with Rebecca and Lilly on either side.

Rachel bumped her elbow to Lilly's, and when the younger girl looked at her, Rachel winked before turning to her twin.

"So, Becks. What were you doing with Embry yesterday?" Rachel asked in a light, curious voice.

Lilly's interest piqued immensely at this new topic as she leaned her head just enough to see Becca around her twin.

Rebecca shrugged, her thumbs hooked in her backpack straps. "Nothing really. I was at home looking at nearby houses that were for sale, as well as some cars when he came over. He was looking for Jake, and I told him Jake wasn't around. I figured he'd leave, but he stuck around and asked what I was up to. I told him and we started talking. He actually gave me some pointers on some of the cars that I was looking at, as well as a few of the houses. I didn't know he was so handy. He knows almost as much about cars as Jake, and he's been fixing things around the house for his mom since he was about ten. He offered to help me with any of that kind of stuff so I could save some money buying a cheaper house or car whenever I get the money saved up. He was really sweet."

Rachel sent a subtle smirk in Lilly's direction, which she returned.

The trio hiked for another couple hours before the trail started heading back toward the reservation. They made a few rest stops to sit and have a drink along the way. After another hour, they were about halfway down the trail toward home when Becca's bladder decided it was full.

"Hey, guys, I need to pee." she announced.

Rachel shrugged. "Okay, you do that and we'll sit here and wait for you." she suggested, already taking a seat on an old log. Rebecca went through some bushes and trees a little ways as Lilly took a seat next to Rach on the log. After a few moments Rachel started a hushed conversation.

"So, I haven't talked to Embry for a few days. Do you know when he plans on telling her everything?" she whispered, leaning closer to Lilly to ensure Rebecca couldn't hear them.

Lilly shrugged. "I haven't asked him lately, and Jake hasn't mentioned anything. I'm not sure what his plan is."

Rachel sighed. "Well, he should tell her soon. I hate keeping secrets from her. And I know she's going to get suspicious soon. I'm honestly surprised she hasn't mentioned it yet."

Lilly nodded and opened her mouth to reply, but suddenly Rachel's eyes changed and she held a finger to her lips, silently telling Lilly to be quiet. Lilly waited in tense silence, trying to hear what made Rachel freeze.

Then, she heard it. Voices. Rebecca's voice…and a man's. Lilly couldn't quite tell if she recognized the voice or not, but she knew it wasn't Jake's, and judging by Rachel's expression it probably wasn't Paul.

They met each other's eyes before standing and tiptoeing in the direction Rebecca had gone. As they got closer, Lilly knew for a fact she didn't recognize the other voice as the murmurings slowly formed into words.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, but I should probably get back to my friends. Our parents will get worried if we aren't home soon." Rebecca announced, and only Rachel could pick up on the minor shaking in her tone.

"Are sure about that, love? Because I'd quite like to meet your friends." a smooth, velvety voice responded, making Rachel and Lilly tense before they peaked around a tree.

Rebecca was standing with her back to them several feet away. Standing in front of her was a tall, slender man with pale white skin and dark brown hair slicked back from his face. However, Rachel and Lilly both went tense when his dark red eyes shifted to them.

Lilly's whole body froze in terror as her mind traveled back to three years before, when she saw that same face, lips smeared with blood as he stood over her parents' bodies. To Rachel, these were the eyes of a Cold One. To Lilly, these were the eyes of the exact same creature that killed her parents.

The vampire grabbed Rebecca's arm and merely tossed her into a nearby tree, leaving her stunned, but still conscious, on the ground. Rachel screamed in shock, but the vampire was suddenly right in front of Lilly in less than a second. He smirked down at her, the cold radiating from his skin and across the two inches that separated him from Lilly. She was too frozen to back away, her feet rooted to the spot.

"Hello, Lilly." he greeted her in his silky, deceptive voice. Lilly's breath caught in her throat, her heart hammering against her rib cage.

"Get away from her." Rachel demanded, stepping to the side so her arm was pressed against Lilly's.

His red eyes moved to Rachel's face, his arrogant smirk still there. "And who's going to make me? Your precious Protectors, who I left on the opposite side of the reservation? It would take them about 8 minutes to get here, and that's _if_ they notice you're in danger right this second."

"They'll rip you to pieces." she snapped, hiding her fear beneath her anger.

His smirk only seemed to grow. "Well, that adds to the excitement, doesn't it?" his arm flashed out and suddenly his hand was gripping Rachel's throat, lifting her a few inches off the ground. Rachel gasped for air as her hands grabbed and pulled at his fingers, but they wouldn't budge.

Lilly stood frozen, her eyes wide in terror. She wanted to help, but she couldn't move or speak. She was paralyzed. Her breath started coming out in quick gasps.

The vampire dropped Rachel a few feet away, leaving her gasping and shaking on the forest floor as he turned back to Lilly.

Her feet finally moved and she stumbled away from him, her feet catching on a branch. She fell to the ground on her butt, backing away until her back hit a tree. She whimpered and shook as the vampire stepped closer until he was only inches away, lowering himself to a crouch before her.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" he teased, "You remember who I am, don't you, Lilly? You remember that night when you found me standing over the bloody corpses of your parents in their bedroom. You remember it all, don't you?" he smirked deviously, his eyes darkening. Lilly barely flinched when he lifted his hand, brushing a single finger slowly down her cheek. "I wonder if your blood will taste as delicious as theirs."

Lilly's breathing picked up even more, her chest heaving with rapid, fearful gasps.

The vampire chuckled lowly at her reaction. "Don't worry, darling. I won't be hurting you today, that'd be too easy. This is just the beginning. I love a challenge. Before I go, though, I have a message for your wolf." he leaned in so his ice-cold lips brushed Lilly's ear, making her shutter, "I'll be back."

A sharp howl ripped through the air as the vampire pulled away from Lilly. He smirked at her once more before he blurred away, the pounding of dozens of heavy footsteps racing after him.

Rachel swallowed, wincing and lifting her fingers to brush her neck. It felt tender from where the Cold One's fingers had pressed around her throat. Rebecca groaned from a few feet away, slowly pushing herself into a sitting position.

"What was that guy?" Becca muttered, putting a hand to her head as she leaned against a tree. Before Rachel could think of a response, some bushes nearby rustled violently a second before Paul came racing toward them.

"Rach!" he shouted as he slammed down onto his knees in front of her, his hands flying up to cup her cheeks. "Rach, baby, are you okay?" he asked worriedly, his eyes scanning her as he hands traced her body. When his eyes found the bruising on her neck he growled, his eyes flashing yellow. His hand moved up so he could gently brush his thumb over her neck. He snarled when she winced.

"Paul." she rasped, her hand coming up to touch his cheek. "Check on Lilly." she nodded over his shoulder, and he turned his head to see Lilly sitting against a tree in the middle of a panic attack.

Embry hurried into the clearing then, going straight for Rebecca. "Jake should be here in a few minutes." he announced absently.

"Em, check on Lilly." Paul ordered, glancing back at Lilly once more before turning back to Rachel.

Embry looked over at the young girl, and was instantly conflicted. He wanted to check on his imprint, but he also knew Lilly's history with vampires. She looked like she was having trouble breathing. He looked worriedly over at Rebecca, who looked up and met his eyes.

She smiled reassuringly. "I'm fine, Embry. Lilly needs you right now." When Embry nodded and headed for Lilly, Rebecca turned to her twin. "I'll be expecting answers in the near future, by the way."

Rachel gave her a shaky smile. "We'll tell you everything when we get back home. I promise."

Embry crouched down in front of Lilly, "Hey, Lil. You're okay now. The pack's taking care of it, and Jake'll be here soon." Lilly didn't respond, she didn't even seem to notice Embry being there. Embry leaned forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Lilly?…Water Lilly?" he tried, hoping the familiar nickname would get through to her. It didn't. "Lilly, come on. You're safe now. He's gone, he can't hurt you." Embry didn't know what to do, but luckily he heard and smelled Jake approaching.

He slowly stood up and took several steps back before Jake burst out of the bushes in the typical jean cutoffs. He raced across the small clearing and landed heavily on his knees in front of his imprint. When Embry saw that Jake was with her, he turned to check on his own imprint.

"Lilly?! Lilly, sweetie, are you hurt?" Jake demanded worriedly, his hands cupping her cheeks as he searched her empty, glazed eyes.

Jake's warm, frantic voice reached deep into Lilly's core, warming her from the inside out and pulling her from the horrific memory she'd all but been trapped in. Her vision cleared and she found Jake's face mere inches from hers. Relief slowly entered Jake's brown eyes when he realized his girl was slowly coming back to him.

He let out a short breath of relief, his hand brushing a strand of her hair back from her face. "Hey, sweetie. Are you hurt anywhere? Did he hurt you?"

Lilly struggled to swallow with her dry throat. After a few moments, she slowly shook her head.

Jake wasn't very convinced, so his eyes slowly scanned her body, his hands brushing down her neck, over her shoulders, and down her arms as he searched for injuries.

"Jake, we're gonna take the twins to your place. Meet us there when you're ready, okay?" Paul spoke quietly as he carefully helped Rachel walk across the forest floor. Rebecca was perched carefully on Embry's back.

Jake nodded to show he heard, his eyes not leaving his imprint's body. When his hands reached her wrists, he lifted her hands and turned them so he could see her palms. They were dirty and looked a bit scuffed, but there was no blood or broken skin. He lifted them up and pressed a soft kiss on each palm. He could hear her heartbeat gradually slowing down, her breathing going back to normal.

"You're safe, Flower. I promise." he whispered, releasing one of her hands so he could cup her cheek in his palm. She whimpered, closing her eyes and pressing her face into his hand. "I'm right here, Lilly. I won't let anyone hurt you."

Lilly nodded slowly, her eyes staying close as she kept her cheek pressed to his hand.

Jake leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Come on, sweetie. Let's get you home, okay?" he pulled away slowly and lifted her into his arms. Nestling her against his bare chest, he made his way through the trees in the direction of his house.

The walk back to his house was mostly silent, and Jake didn't like it. Sure, the usual forest sounds filled the air, but his imprint wasn't talking. He tried to start a conversation a couple times on the walk, but she would either nod, shake her head, or give no response at all. Considering the walk was almost an hour back to his house, it was a rather quiet one.

His pace picked up when he broke the trees and entered his backyard. When he entered the house he barely spared a glance toward the living room, his nose alone telling him his sisters were with Embry and Paul. He walked straight down the hall to his bedroom, carefully setting Lilly down on the edge of his bed. She sat there silently, looking down at her lap with her hands holding her arms. Jake looked her over, gently brushing a strand of hair that escaped her ponytail behind her ear.

"Is it okay if I take off your sweatshirt?" Jake asked gently, wanting to see if the blue zip-up was hiding any other injuries.

Lilly nodded absently, lost in her own mind. She felt lost and cold, like there was a gaping hole in her chest. Basically, she felt just like she did when her parents first died. Alone in the knowledge that a house fire wasn't what killed them. Seeing him again had brought everything back, and she felt like she was drowning.

Jake tried not to be disappointed when she didn't give a verbal response, instead he unzipped her sweatshirt, gently slipping it off her shoulders and onto the bed behind her. His fingers traced down her bare arms, finding no injuries marring her skin. That was a relief, at least. But she still had smudges of mud on her face, and her palms were still scuffed up.

"I'll be back in second, Flower. Okay?" he whispered, brushing his thumb down her chin. She nodded, her eyes still fixed on her jeans. Jake swallowed thickly, his wolf whimpering inside at his imprint's condition. It was honestly scaring him.

Jake stood up and left the room, hurrying into the bathroom and getting a rag wet with warm water from the sink. Hurrying back to his room, he knelt on the ground at Lilly's feet, slowly reaching up to brush the damp rag over her cheek. She didn't respond as he gently cleaned the smudges from her skin. When her face was clean, he gently cleaned her hands one at a time. When that was done, he couldn't take it anymore. He set the rag on the ground and braced his arms on his bed, the inside of his arms pressed against the outside of her thighs. He leaned his face in so he was looking her in the eye.

"Lilly,…please talk to me." he whispered desperately, "I hate not knowing what you're thinking. Please." Seeing no real response, he felt a part of his heart break. "I just want to help you. I need you to tell me what to do. Please don't go quiet again." he begged, his eyes burning at the thought, "Please, just talk to me." he whispered, his head falling forward so his face rested in her lap.

Jake's words echoed in Lilly's mind, and she could feel them pulling her out of her memories. Feeling something warm and wet through her jeans was the final shock she needed. Blinking a few times, Lilly looked down and saw Jake's head rested on her legs, his bare back trembling. Lilly lifted her hand and gently rested it on the back of his head, threading her fingers through his hair.

Jake's head jerked up at the touch and he stared at her. Lilly's eyes filled with tears seeing the pain in his eyes and the few tears that escaped his own eyes.

"Jake." her voice hitched when she said his name, but it was all Jake needed to hear. He stood from the floor and swept her up into his arms, cradling her to his chest as he sat on his bed.

"I've got you, sweetie. I'm sorry I wasn't there. I won't let that happen again." he murmured into her hair, gently rocking her back and forth.

A quiet sob jerked from her throat as she buried her face in his neck. "He was so close…H-he touched me. It was awful, Jake."

Jake's chest rumbled with a low growl, but Lilly found comfort in the sound. She pressed her open palm to his chest, trying to surround herself with the familiar sound that promised protection and safety.

"It was him, Jake." she whispered, her forehead rested on the side of his neck.

Jake went still, his growling coming to a halt. "What do you mean?"

Lilly sniffed, closing her eyes. "The vampire. It was the same one that killed my parents."

Jake's whole body stiffened, his muscles coiling beneath his skin. "What?" he snarled, pulling his head back to look down at her. "Are you sure?"

Lilly nodded, opening her eyes to look up at him. "I'd know that face anywhere, Jake."

"But…it was dark the last time you saw him. Maybe it just looked like him." Jake argued weakly.

Lilly shook her head. "He said my name, Jake." she whispered. Her Wolf's arms instantly restricted around her, crushing her smaller body to his. "And he gave me a message for you. He said he'd be back."

Jake's growl erupted past his bared teeth, his body trembling with suppressed rage. "He won't get anywhere near you again. I'll rip him to pieces."

Lilly's breath caught in her throat and she pulled away a bit. "Rachel." she whispered worriedly, "And Becca! Jake, are they okay? Oh my god, Rach got choked by him, and I just stood there! She defended me and I didn't do anything!" she cried, guilt eating away at her.

"Shh, Lilly, calm down." Jake hushed her, his hand framing her cheek to turn her face to his. "They're mostly okay, sweetie. They're in the living room with Embry, Paul,…and Sam." he answered, having paused to listen to the conversation going on the living room. "The guys are telling Rebecca the truth, and they're both very worried about you." he grimaced a bit, "They also told my sisters about your past with vampires, so now they're extra worried about you."

Lilly whined, burying her face in her hands. "I'm a horrible friend. I didn't do or say anything to stand up for them and they got hurt. I barely got scratched. I'm a terrible person."

"Hey, come on, don't say that." Jake murmured, gently pulling her hands from her face. "You went through something traumatic a few years ago, and seeing him probably put you through some flashbacks. They'll understand that. You couldn't control how you reacted."

"Are any of the guys mad? Is Paul mad that I didn't stick up for Rachel like she did for me?"

Jake shook his head. "They're not mad at you. Yes, Paul's furious that Rach got hurt, but he just wants to track that leech down and rip him limb from limb. He doesn't blame you for anything. Actually, the fact that you were involved makes him want to destroy that leech even more." Jake left out that Paul was slightly ticked at Rachel for encouraging the whole thing, knowing the pack wouldn't like it.

Lilly nodded, mildly relieved.

"Do you want to go out there? Everyone would like to see you. If you're not ready for a bunch of people, that's fine." Jake offered.

Lilly shook her head. "I want to go out there. I want to make sure Rachel and Rebecca are okay."

Jake smiled softly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Okay. Lets go then." He gently helped her stand up before standing himself, taking her hand in his and leading her out of his bedroom. Everyone in the living room stopped talking and looked back at them as they entered the room.

"Lilly!" two feminine voices shouted before Rachel and then Rebecca barreled around the couch and slammed into her. She stumbled under their combined weight and probably would've fallen over if Jake hadn't kept a hand on her back. She quickly hugged them back for a few moments before pulling back. Her eyes fell on the dark, hand-shaped bruises covering Rachel's neck and guilt filled her all over again.

"Are you two okay? I'm so sorry I didn't do anything to stop him, I-"

"Don't even go there." Rachel ordered sternly, pointing a finger in Lilly's face. "They told us about your parents, anyone would've frozen up. I'm just glad he didn't do anything to you." she quickly pulled Lilly back into a tight hug. When they pulled away again, Lilly's eyes went to Becca.

"I'm so sorry you had to find out this way." she whispered.

Becca shrugged. "Yeah, me too, but it's okay. It's not like it's your fault. You were the one trying to talk us out of going on a hike."

Jake wrapped an arm around Lilly's shoulder. "And that's another thing we'll discuss later. Right now, there's something everyone needs to know about that leech."

Sam nodded and Jake lead Lilly and his sisters further into the room. Rebecca and Rachel sat on the couch, Embry on the arm next to Becca, and Paul on the cushion next to Rachel. Jake sat on the armchair and pulled Lilly onto his lap, turning her so she sat sideways on his lap with his arms wrapped around her.

Jake could tell Lilly didn't want to be the one to say it, so he took it upon himself.

"Before I update the pack, you girls have the right to know that this leech that attacked you today is the secret we've been keeping from you for the past week." Rachel's eyes flew to Paul's face, but he avoided looking at her. Jake could feel Lilly's eyes burning into his own face as he continued, "He's been running in and out of our territory for the past couple weeks. We didn't want to tell you because we figured he was just another nomad that we'd handle within one chase. When we realized he was trickier than we thought we didn't want to scare you when it wasn't necessary."

"So, basically you guys kept coming up with excuses not to tell us." Rachel summed up, looking ticked off as her eyes glanced between her brother and Paul.

Jake sighed. "Rach, please don't be like that." He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before looking down at the girl in his arms. "And Lilly, the other night when I came by your house you said you saw something in the bushes. I told you it was Leah, but it wasn't. It was that leech. The pack chased him off while I went to check on you, but we've noticed he's been lurking around your house. When he first started showing up he lingered around your old house you used to live in with your parents, and then he started checking out yours and Abby's house, as well as mine a bit."

Lilly closed her eyes as she fought to keep her breathing calm, trying to focus on Jake's hand running up and down her back.

"That's pretty much everything they need to be told, Jake. Now, what's this you need to tell the pack?" Sam asked seriously.

Jake's eyes darkened as he looked up at his Alpha. "Lilly said it's the same leech that killed her parents."

Everyone went tense and three different growls erupted around the room, Paul and Embry's bodies trembling while Sam seemed to pale a bit.

The Alpha's eyes met Lilly's. "Are you sure?"

She nodded silently, her eyes not leaving his. It was left unsaid that the leech also was the one that caused Sam to phase.

"What are we going to do?" Embry asked seriously, leaning forward on his elbows.

Sam sighed wearily, but Jake cut in. "That's not everything. He knows Lilly. He said her name, and he gave us a message. He'll be back."

"He said this is just the beginning. That's why he didn't hurt me today, he loves a challenge." Lilly put in quietly, pressing closer to Jake's chest to ward off the cold numbness that wanted to sink into her bones.

Sam barely forced down his own snarl while the other wolves didn't even bother to do the same. They were all on edge even more than they had been minutes before. Not only had three of their imprints been threatened and hurt by a Cold One, now said Cold One had vowed to return with the intent to hurt one of their imprints. Even worse, the imprint of the rightful Alpha, the future Chief's mate.

"Alright, first thing's first. We'll up patrols and set up an extra protection plan for…the girls." Sam announced, careful not to use the word 'imprint' since Embry still hadn't told Rebecca about that. "We'll have to fill the rest of the pack in, as well as the Elders. I've got Leah and Jared following the leech as far as they can, Quil and Collin are running a few loops around the territory to double check for any signs of another breach, and I asked Seth and Brady to keep an eye on my house until I relieved them, since Emily and Kim are there. When the rest of the pack are back in the area, I'll phase and show them everything that was discussed here, then I'll call a meeting with the Elders sometimes later tonight. That work for everyone?"

The guys nodded in silent agreement, happy they didn't have to leave their imprints for a little while at least.

"Alright. I'm going to stop at home to check on the other girls and relieve Seth and Brady. I'll keep you guys posted." with that, Sam left out the back door, leaving the room to fall into silence.

Lilly waited a few moments before slowly standing up and approaching the couch, tugging Jake after her. Through a sort of bond the whole pack seemed to share, the others read her intent. Paul scooted as close to the arm of the couch as he could, nestling Rach into his side to make room. Lilly sat down next to Rachel, the sides of their legs pressed together as Jake took the space between Lilly and Becca. Rebecca turned in her spot to rest her back against the arm of the couch, her feet laid across Jake and Lilly's laps as she leaned her head back against Embry's leg, who was sitting on the arm of the couch with his arm rested over the back of the couch.

They all stayed close, needing the small comfort even if it was only a small portion of their pack. The subtle touches and contact barely notable to an outsider, but they were necessary in that moment. Jake's hand resting on Rebecca's leg in his lap, Lilly and Rachel leaning their heads against each other, Paul holding Rachel's hand in his lap, Jake's arm around Lilly's back so his thumb could brush her waist, and Embry's hand gently combing through Becca's hair.

It wasn't more than an hour before the rest of the pack joined them, everyone finding a spot around the room to stay close for as long as they could. They knew they needed to fill the Elders in on the day's events, but no one was in a hurry to leave after three of their own were put in such danger. Especially when one of them was _still_ in danger.

Even Leah, who came off as so bitter and full of hatred over being a wolf, was sitting on the floor in front of the couch with the back of her head rested against the dip made by Rachel and Lilly's touching knees.

It was a small moment that showed just how strong their bond as a pack, as a family, truly was.

 **XXX**

 **Dun dun duuuuunn!**

 **I hope everyone liked this chapter, it was extra long and some answers were finally given! Let me know what you all thought.**


	10. Chapter 10

_Lilly hesitantly entered the clearing in the middle of the woods, looking around herself nervously. When she didn't see anything, she continued into the open space._

 _Her toes tripped over something and she stumbled forward a few steps to keep herself from falling. Looking back, she screamed and jumped away._

 _Her father's dead, pale body lay sprawled out in the grass, his throat mangled and torn out. Her mother's body was in the same state a couple feet away, their lifeless hands linked together._

 _A twig snapped behind Lilly and she spun around, finding herself inches from a familiar, smirking face with bright red eyes. He lunged forward._

Lilly jolted up in bed, a brief squeak escaping her lungs as she sat there, gasping for breath. Her head jerked in all directions as her eyes searched her surroundings frantically. They landed on her alarm clock to see 2:47 flashing on the screen. She sighed in frustration. Just like every night for the past week, it'd taken her a couple hours to fall into a restless sleep, only for her nightmares to wake her up a couple hours later. If she got four hours in a night she was very lucky.

A light tap on her window made her flinch, her eyes flying to the window to see a tan face looking back at her. She relaxed just knowing it was one of the pack. Her window was quietly pushed up and Seth peaked in at her.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked in concern.

She swallowed and forced herself to nod. It was hard to see his face, but she guessed he wasn't convinced. The whole pack knew she was having sleeping problems. It was common knowledge among them that she'd been having nightmares since her parents were murdered, they only stopped when Jake, Her Wolf, started making regular appearances in her dreams, protecting her. After a while the nightmares had stopped. But after seeing the star of her nightmares in the cold, undead flesh they had returned with a vengeance.

Seth glanced over his shoulder before looking back at her. "Jake should be here in about five minutes. He was patrolling near the opposite border while I was patrolling near here. Do you want me to stay with you until he gets here?"

Lilly forced herself to swallow. "You don't have to do that, Seth." she whispered.

Seth scoffed before pulling himself in through her window. "You forget, I'm the nice one in the pack. I don't want you to sit alone in the dark." he slowly approached her bed and sat on the edge, his hand gently rubbing her back.

She found herself leaning into his familiar warmth, her eyes closing as her head rested on his shoulder. "Thanks, Seth."

"No problem." he whispered. They were silent for a few moments as Seth debated something he wanted to say. "You know, our situation may not be the exact same, but Leah and I kinda get what you're going through." Lilly's eyes opened at that, looking up at him without moving her head from his shoulder.

"Our dad had a heart attack because of Leah phasing. And there wasn't anything we could do to help him, because we were stuck out in the woods as wolves while our mom had to try and get an ambulance. We were out there, in the trees behind our house, watching while the paramedics wheeled our dad into the back of that ambulance. We couldn't be there for him or our mom. We were stuck outside in those damn woods while our dad died."

Lilly's eyes burned at the pain in Seth's voice. He was just a kid, only a year older than she was when her parents died. She looked down and took his hand in hers.

"I'm sorry." she whispered.

Seth shrugged his other shoulder so he wouldn't disturb her too much. "You don't need to be sorry, I just want you to know you could talk to me if you need to, or Leah if you want. She actually likes you."

Lilly cracked a smile at that. There were few people that Leah genuinely liked, especially within the pack.

Seth glanced down at her before he heard quiet footsteps outside her bedroom window. He looked up just as Jake appeared in the opening. With his keen eyesight, Seth could see the pain flash in Jake's eyes at the sight of his imprint. He quietly pulled himself in through the window.

Seth briefly worried the other wolf would be mad at how close he was to his imprint. But Jake surprised him by quietly saying, "Thanks Seth. Could you run the boundary quick? I called Paul out to run with you while I checked on her."

Seth nodded silently just as Lilly's eyes opened at the sound of Her Wolf's voice.

She sat up straight, allowing Seth to get up and leave through the window.

Jake carefully lowered himself down in Seth's spot, silently urging Lilly to lie down and rest her head on his lap, his fingers running soothingly through her hair.

Abby didn't want him sleeping over in Lilly's room. She knew what was going on with the leech, and she knew Lilly's nightmares had come back, but like any decent guardian she didn't want her 16 year old granddaughter sharing a bed with her hormonal teenage boyfriend. Not that Jake would try anything while his girlfriend was in this state. On the one hand it frustrated him that Abby didn't trust him, but on the other hand he understood. If he had a teenage daughter he wouldn't want a guy sleeping in her room all night.

Jake kept his eyes fixed on Lilly's face as she rested on his leg. Normally, the feeling of his fingers running down her temple and through her hair would cause her eyes to fall close within a few minutes. But despite how tired her eyes looked, they remained open, staring blankly at the far wall.

"Flower, you need to try and sleep." Jake whispered in the quiet room.

She slowly shook her head, silently refusing. Jake sighed heavily.

"Sweetie, just try. There's still a few hours left in the night. You could still get in another hour at least." Jake pleaded.

Her eyes glistened with tears as she peaked up at him. "I don't want to, Jake. I don't want to keep going back there. I can't handle seeing that every time I close my eyes." she pleaded, her voice thick as a single tear fell down her cheek.

Jake sighed, his finger brushing her tear away as he continued to sit with her, hoping his presence would eventually lull her into sleep. She didn't lose the fight until about five in the morning, her breathing evening out as she finally fell asleep. Jake knew as soon as he left the room her nightmares would attack, but he also knew it wasn't fair to his pack to always fill in for him when he went to check on her.

Very carefully, he cupped her head in his hand and gently shifted her head onto her pillow. He stayed still for a few moments to ensure she remained sleeping before he pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head, carefully got up from the bed, and climbed out her window.

XXX

Lilly woke up again around six in the morning, dragging herself to the bathroom for a long, hot shower to try and relax and maybe wake up a bit. Afterwards, she brushed out her hair and pulled it back into a braid. She was about to text one of the guys to walk her to Emily's, since it was required that all the imprints, especially Lilly, have at least one wolf with them when going out. Even though the walk to Emily's wasn't even five minutes, most of the walk was alongside the woods. However, she had no need to text anyone because when she stepped out of the bathroom she found Brady sleeping on her couch.

"He's been here for about half an hour. Whoever was on patrol heard you were awake and figured you'd want to head over to Emily's soon." Abby came out of the kitchen, her graying, black hair pulled up into a bun. "I gave him a few pop tarts, but he probably wants to head over there so Emily can give him an actual meal."

"Thanks, Gran." Lilly smiled, giving her grandmother a kiss on the cheek. Abby watched as her granddaughter approached the couch.

Lilly plopped down on the edge of the couch next to Brady's hip, reaching over to poke her finger into his cheek multiple times. He grimaced, swatting at her hand before he slowly peaked his eyes open.

"Wake up. I'm ready to go to Emily's." she ordered simply.

Brady sighed, heaving himself up into a sitting position. "Yeah, yeah. I'm going." He waited for her to grab her backpack before the two made the short walk to Sam and Emily's house.

Naturally, no one was at the house when they got there. Well, that wasn't completely true. Emily was in the kitchen when they arrived, and Quil was asleep on the couch. There was probably a wolf nearby in the woods for patrol, too, but Lilly wasn't positive.

Since Emily had only just started cooking breakfast, Lilly grabbed herself a mug of coffee to drink while she waited for food.

Over the next couple hours several members of the pack came and went, stopping to eat breakfast and socialize with each other. Kim arrived with Jared, who only had time to eat a plate before going out on his patrol.

Kim eyed the mug in Lilly's hands as she started on her own plate.

"That's not coffee, is it?"

Lilly paused in taking another sip as she regarded her fellow imprint. "Yes."

"In the two months I've known you I've never seen you drink coffee. In fact, I'm pretty sure you told me at one point that you hate coffee."

"Yeah well,…this has lots of cream and sugar." Lilly answered, taking a long sip.

"I really think that should be your last one, too. Isn't that your third cup?" Emily asked as she finally sat down for her own breakfast.

Lilly blushed and set the mug down on the tabletop. "Yeah, but you try getting by on a few hours of sleep a night for a whole week. I almost fell asleep standing up yesterday!"

Kim and Emily both grimaced in sympathy.

"And your grandma still won't consider letting Jake sleep in your room? Even for a night to see if it would help?" Kim asked.

Lilly sighed. "I don't blame her for that. I'm really the only close, biological family member she's got left. She tends to be a bit…overprotective."

Emily nodded in understanding as Paul came in with Rachel and Rebecca.

The twins smiled in greeting before each grabbing a plate. Paul grabbed his after them and sat next to Lilly.

"Hey, how'd you sleep after Jake left?" he asked quietly.

Lilly shrugged as she swallowed another sip of her coffee. "I got maybe another hour or two, which I suppose is pretty good." It took a bit for her mind to process a fact that seemed on the edge of her brain. "Wait, you stepped in for Jake. Why hasn't Jake been in here yet?"

Paul looked down at his plate, taking a couple mouthfuls that seemed large, even for him.

"Paul." Rachel snapped, clearly wanting to know the answer, too.

Paul swallowed before looking sheepishly at Lilly. "He's still patrolling. Has been since he went back out after checking on you."

Lilly blinked slowly. "You mean,…apart from when he came to my room last night for like…a few hours, he patrolled the _entire night_?"

Paul looked down to avoid her eyes. "Yep."

"Why?"

Paul sighed in defeat. "Because, he's an idiot." Rachel backhanded his arm, and he rephrased, "He's patrolling a little more than the rest of us; one: because he wanted to ensure you're safe, and two: he wants to make up for the time he spends checking on you when you have nightmares."

Lilly looked down in embarrassment. "Oh…well, you could tell him he doesn't need to check on me every time I have a nightmare. It's not like my dreams are any danger."

"Don't even go there, Lil." Embry entered the kitchen from the living room. "We _want_ him to check on you every time. It's not a chore or even a favor every time one of us gets up to run for him while he checks on you. We'd do it even if he didn't ask. You went through hell with what you witnessed, and you have to basically relive that every time you have one of those nightmares. If I had any say, I'd put Jake on day patrols only so he could stay with you during the night."

"Is he scheduled to run this much?" Lilly asked worriedly.

Embry shook his head. "No. His scheduled patrol was last night with Seth. That shift ended around five this morning. He went back out and patrolled with me and Leah. Our shift just ended, but he's still out there."

"Isn't he going to come in for breakfast?" Lilly asked worriedly.

Embry shrugged. "Eventually, I'd guess. Not sure when, though."

Lilly felt slightly numb as she set her mug back down on the table. Jake needed to sleep and eat. He couldn't run patrol for the whole night and into the day without any real break.

She pushed her chair away from the table and left the kitchen, ignoring everyone asking where she was going as she walked out the back door. She crossed the short expanse and stopped at the edge of the trees. She was vaguely aware of a couple people watching her from the doorway, but she focused her eyes on the trees.

"Jake?" she called loudly. All she got in response was silence. She waited a few moments before she cupped her hands around her mouth and called again, "Jacob!"

It stayed quiet, but she could feel a shift in her gut. A mild tenseness she didn't even know was there lessened, telling her he was coming to her.

Then, her breath caught in her throat as a large, majestic creature stepped through the trees, his head held high and russet fur glistening from the light drizzle. All Lilly's breath escaped her lungs as he stepped closer. The pull in her chest took her a few steps forward until they were right in front of each other.

Jake lowered his head and bumped his nose under her chin. Lilly's hands came up and scratched around his ears.

"We need to talk, Jake. Can you phase back?" Lilly whispered, running her hand down his forehead and between his eyes to the end of his nose.

Jake whimpered before nodding his head. He backed away and returned to the cover of the trees for several moments before he returned as a shirtless human wearing only a pair of cutoffs.

"Hey, what are you doing out here by yourself?" Jake asked worriedly, his hands going to her waist.

"Oh please, you know someone was watching from the backdoor." Lilly rolled her eyes.

"Still." Jake muttered, pulling her close so their fronts were pressed together. "What's up?" he asked gently, resting his forehead against hers.

"Why are you still out there if your patrol ended hours ago?" she asked softly.

Jake stilled for several seconds before asking, "Who told you that?"

"That doesn't matter. Jake, you can't keep going like this, you'll run yourself into the ground."

"I've got better stamina than humans, Lilly. I'm fine." he muttered.

"That doesn't mean you can run for 6 or 7 or however many hours straight. Please, Jake. They've got two wolves out there patrolling right now, they're fine on their own. Come in for some breakfast." she took his hands and tried pulling him toward the house.

Jake looked at war with himself. "Lilly…"

"Please Jake." she pleaded desperately. "Please, I just want to pretend that everything's normal this morning. Please, just come in and eat breakfast with everyone."

Jake saw the desperation and fear in her eyes and broke. He sighed in defeat, pulling her into him and giving her a warm hug. "Okay." he gave in, "Okay, lets go eat."

 **XXX**

 **Reminder: if you haven't voted for the name of a new OC in this story, please do so. The poll is on my profile. He will be appearing in the near future. He won't be a major character, but he may or may not become one. ; )**


	11. Chapter 11

A few nights later Jake was running his patrol with Jared. He was running along the Forks border while Jared was running through the rez. As usual, everything seemed quiet. They hadn't seen much of the leech since he 'attacked' Rach, Becca, and Lilly, but they could smell that he was lurking around just past the border some nights. He never stuck around long enough for them to see him, but his stench lingered for hours.

Jacob was heading back through the rez when Jared's voice spoke in his head.

 _"Jake, I think Lilly's having another nightmare. This one seems bad, she's thrashing around."_ Jake heard through Jared's ears the rustling of Lilly's bed sheets. He could also hear her heart pounding in her chest, quiet whimpers escaping her lips, and the scent of fear practically leaked through her windowsill.

Jake's speed doubled before Jared had finished speaking Lilly's name and he was soon flying through the trees toward her house, reaching her backyard in about two minutes. He phased out and yanked his shorts on, buttoning them up as he raced across the yard to her window. He caught a glimpse of her as he shoved the window up, and sure enough she was thrashing around, her sheets half falling off the bed. Just as he was climbing through the open window, a piercing, agonized scream ripped from her vocal chords.

The sound caused Jake to stumble and practically fall into the room. Lilly's back arched off the bed as if she were possessed, another scream that sounded awfully like his name ripping from her again.

Jake rushed to her side, leaning over her and gripping her shoulders, trying to shake her awake. "Lilly! Lilly, wake up! It's just a nightmare, it's not real! I'm right here!"

There was a dull thump in another room before Lilly's door flew open and Abby was standing there, her eyes wide and chest heaving frantically as she took in the sight of her granddaughter screaming in fear and pain.

Gradually, Lilly's horrific screams turned into words. "JAKE! Please! Please stop, don't hurt him!"

Jake's heart lurched painfully as he stared down at her face, full of fear and pain.

"Lilly, please! Wake up! I'm right here, I'm fine!" Jake shouted again, pushing her sweaty hair back. "LILLY!" he finally shouted.

She gasped, lurching up and almost bashing her head into his. She practically fell into his arms, gasping and shuddering as he cradled her to his chest. He lifted a hand to her head and pressed her face into his chest.

"Shh, you're safe. I've got you, you're okay." he whispered into her hair, gently rocking her back and forth. She whimpered, shakily lifting her arms to wrap around his back, using her little strength to pull herself as close to him as she could.

"Jake." she whimpered, breaking down into his chest, her back lurching with quiet sobs.

Jake closed his eyes in pain, burying his face into the top of her head as he ran his fingers through her hair. "I've got you. I'm right here, sweetie. I promise you're safe, Flower." Her muscles relaxed even more at the familiar nickname, her body all but collapsing against his and letting him take her full weight.

"Jacob." Jake looked over his shoulder to see Abby still standing there, her eyes wet with a single tear trailing down her cheek as she stared at her granddaughter. "Stay with her tonight."

Jake was almost surprised, but he didn't show it. He only gave a simple nod before turning back to his imprint. He cradled her as if she were about to break, carefully lifting her so he could lie down in the bed, draping her across his chest so he could hold her close.

When Abby left the room, Jake gently ran his hand up and down Lilly's back, examining her face and blank, wide-eyed stare. It was several, silent minutes before she spoke.

"He killed you." she whispered hoarsely. Jake's hand paused in her hair before continuing to rub her back.

"He can't kill me, Flower." Jake whispered into her hair.

She sniffled before speaking again. "He was going to attack me, but you came to protect me. He threw you into a tree." her breath hitched and when she spoke again her voice was thick with tears, "I heard bones crack and break. And then he walked up to you. He kicked you in the leg, and your leg broke. I begged and pleaded for him to leave you alone. I begged him not to hurt you." she closed her eyes, a tear running from her tear duct and across her nose to hit his chest beneath her cheek. "And then…he bit you."

Jake tried not to stiffen at her words. Vampire venom was toxic to shape shifters. If one of the pack were to get bitten by a leech, it would lead to a slow, agonizingly painful death while the venom spread through their veins and blood until it finally reached their heart and stopped it. Safe to say none of them wanted to experience such a death.

"Flower, I'm a smart fighter. I'm not going to let some stupid, stalker leech get the better of me." Jake tried to reassure her.

"A newborn broke half your bones." she muttered quietly. Jake winced at the reminder, but tried to make light of it.

"Ouch, wound my manly ego, why don't you?" he teased. She merely opened her eyes and looked up at him, not the least bit amused. He sighed. "Lilly, that was the first and only time I've ever been hurt in a fight. With how tight patrols are right now, that leech won't ever find one of us alone. And that nightmare could never happen anyway, because you're smart enough to stay out of the woods, especially alone. Right?" he poked at her ribs, which made her twitch and one corner of her mouth to briefly lift. " _Riiiiight_?" he asked teasingly, wiggling his fingers over her ribs, causing her to squirm and smile. He used his other arm to hold her still as he continued tickling her ribs and belly. She giggled and squirmed, trying to escape his hold.

"Okay, alright. Yes, I'll stay out of the woods." she giggled, trying to stay quiet so they didn't disturb her grandmother anymore than they already did.

"See? Told you you're smart." Jake teased, turning on his side to wrap both arms around her, pulling her to his chest so their faces were an inch apart. "You're smart, I'm smart. We're just an extremely smart, good-looking couple, and we'll get through this, deal with that annoying leech, grow up, graduate, and have a whole litter of smart, good-looking puppies." he described playfully.

Lilly giggled at his silliness and he started peppering little kisses all over her face. "You're such a goofball." she told him.

"But I'm your goofball." he smiled cheesily down at her.

Her smile softened. "Good." Scooting closer, she nestled into his chest, feeling his heart thumping against her face. His breath tickled her hair as he kissed the top of her head.

"Get some sleep, Flower. I'm staying here with you tonight."

Just the thought of him staying the night made Lilly feel safer, a soft smile stretching over her lips. "Okay, I'll try. Love you, Jake."

"I love you, too, Lilly."

XXX

Lilly scooted comfortably down under the thick blanket on the Blacks' couch, a bag of potato chips resting between her and Rachel.

"I swear, I'm going to get so fat being cooped up like this." Rachel grumbled, glaring at the bag of chips even as she ate another one.

"Sorry." Lilly mumbled, half asleep as she leaned her head back on the couch.

"I'm not blaming you, I'm just saying I'm getting bored. And how do the guys expect me to get a job? Are they going to be following me to work and watching me during my whole shift? There aren't very many decent-paying jobs on the reservation in my field." Rachel explained.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Lilly's mind in the space between sleep and consciousness.

"Soooo,…what are you doing this weekend?" Rachel asked curiously.

Lilly blinked her eyes back open. "Um,…nothing, really. Not that I know of, why?"

Rach shrugged. "Just wondering…You remember what this weekend is, right?"

Lilly rolled her eyes. "I'm trying not to, Rach."

The coming weekend was the 12th and 13th of August. Bella and Edward's wedding was the 13th. She was trying not to think about it, and everything that came after it. You'd think, between her nightmares and worrying about a psycho vampire wanting her dead, Lilly wouldn't have any time to think about the wedding of her soul mate's former crush. Nope. During the day, she rarely had anything to do, and during the night she had hours where she laid awake. Her thoughts had plenty of time to wander.

The backdoor suddenly swung open, making Lilly jump and Rachel's head swing to the side. Jake casually strode in, heading straight for the couch. He briefly tipped Lilly's head up with his knuckle under her chin, pecking her lips. He pulled away, ruffled Rachel's hair, and went to the kitchen. Lilly blinked quickly, her tired mind trying to register what happened while Rachel scowled after her brother, flattening her hair with her hand.

"Hungry much?" she called into the kitchen after hearing the fridge open and something being placed in the microwave.

"Starving! Fat much?" Jake called back. Lilly gave a tired smile at their playful banter.

"I may be if you guard dogs keep me cooped up much longer!" Rachel called back before eating a chip.

"You could do jumping jacks or sit-ups in the living room." Jake answered. Rachel mimicked him under her breath, her lips lifted in a mocking scowl.

"I can hear you, sis."

"Good!"

The backdoor swung open yet again and Paul strolled in with a smirk.

"You better be here to get me out. Even just a walk to the beach! Please!" Rachel pleaded to her boyfriend.

Paul's smirk widened. "Sure, why not? You wanna come, Lil?"

She shook her head with a small smile. "No thanks. I'd probably fall asleep walking."

"At least then you'd get some sleep." Paul shrugged, winking at her as he lead Rachel out the front door. Rach was practically skipping at the chance to get out of the house.

The microwave beeped and a few moments later Jake entered the living room and sat on the couch next to her. Lilly shifted and leaned against his side while he ate leftover meatloaf and mashed potatoes. He finished it in a matter of minutes, putting the plate on the coffee table so he could wrap his arm around her and nestle her into his side.

"So, you got any plans at all this weekend?" Jake asked curiously.

Lilly's brows furrowed even though her eyes remained closed. "What is it with you Black kids asking if I have plans this weekend?" she spoke more to herself before answering, "No, I don't. Why?"

"I was thinking we could do something this weekend. You know, to keep our minds off of everything going on. I thought maybe we could go camping."

Lilly forced her eyes open and looked up at him like he was crazy. "You want to go camping, out in the woods, where there could be a vampire that wants to kill me." she repeated slowly.

Jake rolled his eyes. "Hey, I wouldn't even suggest it if I hadn't completely thought it out and asked my brothers for help. It would be completely safe. Besides, you told me on our first date that your favorite memory was when you used to go camping with your dad. I know you miss doing that, and unfortunately the last time you went camping was freezing up in the mountains with Bella and a vampire."

Lilly gave a small smile. "Okay, so what would the plan be?"

Jake turned a bit so he could face her better, his thumb stroking the skin of her shoulder. "Well, I was thinking on Sunday, the 13th, we could set up a tent in the woods behind my house. I could bring a small, disposable grill to cook some hotdogs and marshmallows, and we can just chill and sleep in the tent. A couple of the guys even volunteered to run extra loops around my house to make sure everything's safe. So, how does it sound?"

Lilly chewed thoughtfully on her bottom lip. Honestly, it sounded great. She'd get to cuddle with Jake in a sleeping bag for an entire night, just talking and spending time with him like they were supposed to for the summer before that stupid vampire had to ruin everything. Plus, school was starting in a couple weeks, and then she wouldn't get much spare time with Jake.

"Okay, I'd like that. But you're the one who has to tell my grandma." Lilly grinned. Jake grimaced slightly before nodding in agreement.

"I can do that."


	12. Chapter 12

**Just a quick heads up, there will be a little talk of sex in this chapter. Nothing will happen and there's nothing graphic, they merely talk about it. Just so you all know so no one gets their panties in a bunch.**

 **XXX**

Lilly crossed the Blacks' backyard with a backpack, following Jake into the trees. Jake and Embry had set up a small tent a few meters into the trees behind the house, far enough in that it felt like actual camping, but close enough that they could just barely see the house through the trees.

When the small, blue tent came into view Lilly couldn't help a small smile. It was the same tent her and Jake had slept in up in the mountain on the eve of the newborn battle. While it wasn't a good memory, she had a decently fun time with Jake.

"You can get the sleeping bag unrolled in the tent, and I'll start cooking the hotdogs if you want." Jake offered over his shoulder, unzipping the tent flap.

"Okay." Lilly smiled as she stopped walking. Jake grabbed a large cooler out of the tent and stepped out of the way so she could duck inside past him. There was a large sleeping bag rolled up in the corner next to a battery powered lantern. It only took her about five minutes to move things around and unroll the sleeping bag like Jake asked. When she was done she could smell the hotdogs cooking, so she stepped outside. Jake was crouched on the ground, a small, portable grill on a stump in front of him with several hotdogs cooking.

"Hey." Jake grinned over his shoulder at her before facing the grill and using a metal tong to turn the meat over. "This batch should be done in about ten minutes, or less depending on how cooked you want yours." he sat back so his butt rested on the ground, his back against the small cooler. Lilly walked over to him and sat on the ground next to him, snuggling into his side when he instinctively lifted his arm over her shoulders.

"So, do we only have hotdogs? Because I highly doubt we could get by on that alone, knowing your appetite." Lilly smirked at him, leaning her head on his shoulder. Jake wrinkled his nose sarcastically at her.

"Ha ha, very funny. We've also got potato chips and all the fixings for s'mores for dessert."

"Mmm, s'mores." Lilly smiled at the thought, her stomach grumbling lightly at the thought of the delicious dessert.

"Yep, but you've gotta eat a couple hotdogs first." Jake smirked at her. Lilly stuck her tongue out.

"I'm well aware of that, Jakie." she teased. Jake grimaced jokingly at the nickname, but she could tell he didn't completely mind.

While Jake's eyes stayed fixed on the grill, Lilly allowed her eyes to scan the trees around them. The sun was just starting to set, letting small rays of rare sunlight shine through the trees. In one direction, she could just make out Jake's small, red house and in the other direction she could only see endless trees and bushes.

"Who's patrolling tonight?" Lilly asked quietly, her eyes fixed in the space between the trees.

"Mm, Seth and Jared's shift is almost done, they'll be replaced by Quil and Leah in about half an hour; and Paul, Embry, and Brady will be taking turns patrolling around our little campsite until we head inside tomorrow."

"That many wolves are losing sleep just because we're out here?" Lilly murmured under her breath, guilt filling her chest. That meant Jake, Sam and Collin were the only wolves that wouldn't be patrolling. Granted, Seth and Jared's patrol would be done before nightfall.

"Don't." Jake ordered quietly, turning to look down at her under his arm. "The wolves on normal patrol would've been out here whether or not we were camping. And Paul, Embry, and Brady volunteered to patrol, I didn't even ask them. Besides, between the three of them, they'll only need to patrol for…like five hours, that's a normal shift. It's fine." he promised, leaning down to kiss the side of her head.

Lilly hummed doubtfully, but didn't respond since she still felt guilty. She would've just as soon camped out in Jake's living room or bedroom if she'd known she would cause that many wolves to loose sleep.

Jake leaned down until his nose bumped her temple. "Lilly, everyone's worried about you. If patrolling one extra shift means you get to have one normal, fun night to get your mind off everything, they're willing to do it. Mostly because they all care about you, and partially because they know I'd do the same for Emily, Kim, Claire, or my sisters in a heartbeat. It's part of being in a pack. You're not getting special treatment, we'd do the same for any of the imprints. Okay?" he whispered, his lips brushing her ear as he spoke.

Lilly nodded, keeping her eyes down. Jake kissed her cheek before pulling away and reaching behind himself to grab some plates off the cooler lid. He scooped a couple hotdogs onto one plate and handed it to Lilly before scooping the rest onto his plate. They grabbed the buns, condiments, and chips out of the cooler and finished making up their plates before sitting back and eating.

"So, how's Embry doing with the whole imprint thing?" Lilly asked curiously before taking a bite of her hotdogs while Jake put several more of them on the grill for the next batch.

Jake rolled his eyes as he sat back next to her. "He doesn't want to tell her yet. He says he doesn't want her to feel obligated to feel anything for him right away, which I can respect, but it's mostly because he's scared. He's afraid that he'll get up the nerve to tell her and she'll freak out and tell him to get away from her. He also says he wants them to become close before he tells her, so maybe she'll realize it's not the imprint forcing her to like him."

Lilly nodded slowly. "That makes sense, I suppose. I mean, I liked you before you told me."

Jake grinned down at her. " _Reeeaally."_ he teased.

Lilly blushed and shoved his shoulder, making him laugh when he didn't even budge. "Shut up. I might have…sort of, kind of…liked you." she muttered.

"Care to elaborate?" Jake continued to grin at her before taking another bite of his food.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Well,…I thought you were…hot. I suppose I technically had a crush on you, a little bit." she quickly took a bite of her food to hide her embarrassment.

Jake chuckled quietly, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her into his side. "I do have a vague recollection of you blushing over seeing me shirtless." he teased.

Lilly rolled her eyes. "Don't go getting a big head over it." she muttered before taking another bite of her hotdog.

They finished eating their dinner within half an hour, Lilly eating three hotdogs and Jake eating about fifteen, and both eating the whole bag of chips between the two of them. By the time Jake opened the bag of marshmallows, night had fallen, the only light being the glow of the burning coals in the grill.

Lilly stuck a marshmallow on the end of a stick Jake handed her, and Jake stuck four of them in a row on his own twig. They sat quietly as they held the marshmallows over the grill.

"So, have you been working on any new sketches?" Jake asked curiously, glancing down at her before looking back at the food.

Lilly grimaced slightly. "Sort of. I've been working on a sketch of your backyard for about a week now. Becca said she could give me a few printouts of the photos she took when we went hiking so I'd have some new material to sketch."

Jake nodded. "That's right, I forgot she took pictures. She's made a couple paintings of them recently that she's going to sell to an art gallery in Port Angeles." he pulled his stick away from the grill and put his marshmallows on chocolate and graham crackers for his s'more. Lilly did the same when she saw that her marshmallow was golden brown.

"Yeah. We've been looking at each other's work. She mentioned that if I was interested she could try and talk to one of the gallery owners to see if any of them would be interested in buying some of my sketches. Not sure if I'll take her up on it or not." Lilly admitted with a shrug before taking a huge bite of her s'more.

Jake gave her a wide-eyed stare, his eyebrows almost to his hairline before he quickly swallowed the bite he'd just taken. "Are you serious? Lilly, yes, you should try it. The worst that could happen is that they say 'no'. Becca may be nice, but she's also professional. If she thinks you've even got a chance in selling your art to a gallery, then you've definitely got a chance."

Lilly smiled shyly, covering her mouth until she swallowed her food. "Okay, I'll give it a try, I guess."

Jake smiled at her before his eyes moved to her mouth. He reached out and swiped his thumb over the corner of her mouth. "You had some chocolate on your mouth." he explained. Lilly smiled again, shaking her head.

When they were finished, Jake extinguished the coals in the grill while Lilly crawled into the tent, trying to stifle her yawns. She was exhausted, even though it was probably only nine o'clock. She crawled up the sleeping bag before collapsing on her tummy, her face landing on the pillow.

The tent flap rustled and there was a long zip before she heard Jake's voice, "Tired?"

"A little." she mumbled into the pillow. She felt movement at her side and turned her head to peak up at Jake, who had crawled up next to her. He lowered himself to his elbows, lying on his stomach next to her. He looked like he had something on his mind, even opening his mouth a couple times before closing it again.

Finally, he sighed. "Think you could stay up for a bit longer? There's something I kinda wanted to talk to you about."

Lilly turned over on her side, bracing her elbow on the pillow so she could hold her head up with her hand. She knew if she laid her head on the pillow she'd fall asleep. "Sure. What's wrong?"

Jake sighed, looking down at his hands rested atop the pillow. "There's nothing…wrong, exactly. I just…there's something I really need to tell you, that I probably should have told you the morning after I left your room so suddenly. I wasn't ready to tell you the complete reason for that, because I know you're not ready for that, but I'm not ready, either."

"Ready for what?" she urged quietly, seeing that he was starting to ramble a bit.

He closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them and turned to her. "There's this other thing that wolves do. It comes with imprinting, but it's much more rare than imprinting."

"How rare?"

"Like…it's only happened three times in recorded history." Jake answered.

Lilly's eyebrows slowly rose to her hairline. "Wow. That is kinda rare. So,…what is it, exactly?"

"It's called marking. It's something that occurs between an imprinted pair, but only in the most…extreme cases. Normally, the wolf doesn't have the urge to mark their mate unless she's in some kind of danger or they need to strengthen their bond for whatever reason.

"The mark sorta strengthens the imprint. Like, in a normal imprint I can feel a slight tug in my chest whenever I need to find you. With a marked pair, the wolf would have a sort of…sixth sense almost if he needed to find his imprint, almost like a homing beacon right to her. They're connected on a completely different level than just a normal, imprinted pair."

"If you can call imprinting 'normal'." Lilly teased lightly, making Jake smile in return.

"True."

"So, the wolf would only want to do it if his imprint were in danger or something?"

"Something like that. The situations vary. The first recorded marking took place sometime in 1411. One of Taha Aki's sons, who was the only other wolf besides Taha Aki himself to imprint that we know of. After the pack first encountered the Cold Man, the one protector's wolf urged him to mark his mate. The wolf could sense that something was wrong, that some danger would soon find their village, and the wolf wanted the extra assurance that his imprint would be safe. So, he marked her. Of course, a few months later the Cold Woman attacked the village, and you already know that story, with the Third Wife's sacrifice and everything. But the extra bond between the wolf and his imprint actually allowed him to protect her better, which was good since, you know, she was actually a couple months pregnant when the Cold Woman attacked." Jake shrugged with a small smirk.

Lilly returned it with a small smile of her own. "So, that's one, who were the other two?"

"The next wolf was from the last pack, Quil Ateara II. I'm not entirely sure what situation came up that made Quil II's wolf feel the urge to mark his imprint, Lucy Ateara, but Sam thinks it could've had something to do with the Cullens coming into the area. You know, since the packs had never seen a coven that large before, maybe Quil's wolf just wanted to mark his imprint as an extra precaution. But that's just one of Sam's theories, we're not 100%."

Lilly nodded. "It makes sense." she admitted with a shrug.

Jake agreed with his own nod. "Yeah, anyway the most recent marking was between Sam and Emily."

Lilly's eyes widened in shock. "Really?"

Jake nodded again. "Yep. It actually wasn't that long ago in retrospect, late in 2005, so about 10 months ago, definitely less than a year."

"Sam actually allowed his wolf that close to the surface when Emily's involved?" Lilly questioned in shock. She sort of knew how Sam was when it came to his wolf and Emily, which was understandable given the scars marring her cheek.

"Well, Sam's wolf pushed for it pretty much since Emily's scars had healed, but he always fought the urge. Finally one day Emily sort of sensed his struggle and questioned him about it. When he explained what it was, she practically begged for him to mark her. She wanted that extra connection with his wolf. She wasn't the one that was scared, Sam was. She understood that it was something they both needed in order to move on with their life together. They talked about it for a while, but since Sam's wolf was basically demanding for it, and Emily wanted it, Sam's resolve pretty much disintegrated. So, he marked her and then a couple months later, since their relationship was so much stronger, he proposed."

"Aww." Lilly smiled, "That's sweet. So, how does marking work? I'm assuming you'd, like,…bite or something?" she questioned uncertainly.

Jake tried not to grimace as he nodded. "Yeah, something like that. The wolf typically leaves a bite mark on the side of his imprint's neck." Jake reached out and brushed his thumb down the side of Lilly's neck, over the spot his hickey used to be. "Then he'd lick it to keep out infections and so it'd heal faster. We're not sure on all the details, but Sam's noticed that Emily's temperature went up a degree or so since he marked her. Not enough to be noticeable really, but just a little warmer than normal."

Lilly thought over Jake's words and she suddenly made the connection between the hickey Jake left on her neck and this conversation. "Wait,…you mean your wolf wants to mark me?"

Jake looked down, watching his thumb brush over the sleek surface of the sleeping bag. After a few moments of silence he nodded slowly.

Lilly took a deep breath before saying, "Do you think…maybe he knew about the vampire? You said that he was outside my house that night. Maybe that's why your wolf wants to do it."

Jake nodded again, sighing and looking back up at her. "Yeah, that's what I've been thinking. Now that we know the significance of that leech being around I'm almost positive the wolf knew something was going to happen."

Lilly bit her lip nervously. "So,…do you think that, maybe, you should…?" she trailed off uncertainly.

Jake met her eyes seriously and shook his head. "No, absolutely not. I'm not going to mark you, Lilly."

"Why not?" she asked quietly, feeling insecure at how quick he was to shut her down. Did he not want a stronger bond with her?

Jake took her hand in his, brushing his thumb over her knuckles. "Because, you don't know what you're asking for."

"I'm asking for a stronger bond with My Wolf, which would also give me more protection, and you some peace of mind about my safety. Why is that so bad?" she asked quietly.

Jake huffed out a deep breath before scooting closer to her. "Because there's something we need to do in the process of marking."

Lilly looked up at him, her brow furrowed in confusion. Jake leaned down and rested his forehead against hers.

"We have to have sex, Flower." he answered bluntly. "We'd have to have sex, and then the wolf would mark you while we're both…you know, finishing." he looked away awkwardly, and even Lilly looked down in embarrassment.

"Oh."

"Yeah. Oh." Jake whispered. "We're definitely not ready for that step, and I don't want to mark you our first time. The first time's supposed to hurt enough for the girl as it is, I'm not adding the pain of my wolf biting your neck to that. Besides, none of the other marked pairs did the marking their first time. Even Sam and Emily had sex at least a few times before he marked her."

Lilly grimaced. "Okay, ew. That's too much info, Jake. I already know that Sam's apparently very _dominant_ in the bedroom thanks to Emily. I don't need to think about their sex life anymore than that."

Jake threw his head back and laughed, rolling over onto his back. His laughter was contagious and soon Lilly started laughing, pressing her face into the pillow to muffle the sound. It took them both a few minutes before they were able to calm down. When they did, they both got themselves situated, scooting down into the sleeping bag together.

Lilly snuggled into Jake's side, her head pillowed on his chest and her arm draped over his stomach while his arm wrapped around her back.

Jake pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I don't need to mark you, Flower. I love you and I _will_ protect you. I'll always protect you, I promise."

 **XXX**

 **I hope everyone liked this chapter, and my own little take on 'marking'. I've read lots of stories where marking was involved and I wanted to give it a try myself. It's not that unique, but oh well.**

 **There's also one more thing I'd like to mention. I don't mind people asking me to update, as long as they're polite about it, which most people have been. However, I've read a couple reviews that sort of come off as rude, even if they aren't intended to be. I try to update every 3 or 4 days, which is a lot more frequently than most people. Please keep that in mind. At the moment I'm writing chapter 20, so that way I've got enough chapters that I don't have to make you wait too long if I can't write for a while.**

 **Thank you for taking the time to read this note, and let me know what you thought of this chapter.**


	13. Chapter 13

Jake knocked briefly on the Fullers' front door before letting himself in, which Abby had instructed him to do after visiting multiple times over the past few weeks. She figured it was pointless for him to knock on the front door when he made regular visits through Lilly's bedroom window.

Abby wasn't home, probably already left for her job at the library in Forks. Sam had the pack keeping an eye on the library as best they could since they couldn't cross the border.

Crossing the living room, Jake paused only for a second to pet Dash, who was curled up in the recliner. He then proceeded down the hall toward Lilly's bedroom. He gently rapped his knuckles on the wood door before peaking it open.

Lilly was laying awake on her side, her blanket pulled up to her shoulder. She was staring at him expectantly, her lips barely lifted in a brief smile before returning to her neutral expression.

Jake smiled gently as he approached, carefully lowering himself to sit on the edge of her bed. He lifted his hand and brushed Lilly's black hair back from her face, his fingers running through her hair at the back of her head.

"Tired?" he smiled sympathetically, noting the barely visible bags under her eyes.

Lilly sighed, closing her eyes. "A little. I didn't sleep well."

Jake sighed. He hadn't been able to stay the night with her because he had patrol. And unfortunately he had patrol again in a few hours.

"Well, I came up with an idea, if you're interested?" He tilted his head at her, his fingers continuing their repeated path through her hair.

Lilly slowly forced her eyes open. "I'm listening."

"I've got a couple hours before my next patrol. How about we go to my place, and you can take a nap in my room? Maybe being in my room, you'll be able to sleep even after I leave for patrol."

Lilly smiled appreciatively. "That actually sounds nice. Let's try it." She slowly sat up, pushing her blanket down to her waist.

Jake pressed a kiss to her forehead before pulling back and resting a hand on her cheek. "I'll wait for you in the living room. Okay?"

Lilly nodded and Jake left the room so she could get ready. When she was finished, they walked to the Blacks' house hand-in-hand.

It had been less than a week since the pair camped out in the woods behind Jake's house, and while it had become a routine for Jake to spend the night in her room with her, there were some nights he couldn't make it due to patrol. For the most part, Lilly seemed to sleep better when he was there, if only a bit restlessly. But Jake had come up with a plan B for nights that he couldn't be there, which he intended to show her later in the evening.

They reached his small, red house shortly and Jake opened the door to let Lilly in first. They found Rebecca in her diner uniform, grabbing her purse off the couch.

"You headin' to work?" Jake asked.

Becca smiled at them. "Yeah. Someone called in so I've gotta cover their shift. I should be home by five, though."

Jake nodded, making a mental note to have one of the guys run by the diner just as a precaution.

"Have fun." Lilly smiled at Jake's sister. Rebecca smiled back as she headed for the front door.

"Thanks. You, too."

Once the door closed behind her, Jake lead Lilly to his bedroom. He closed the door while she toed off her shoes before plopping down on his bed. She dragged herself across the bed and rolled onto her side, her back bumping into the wall.

Jake followed her lead and crawled into the bed, pulling his sheet over the both of them and pulling Lilly close to him so her head was nestled into his chest. Jake remained awake, letting his fingers trail lightly over her spine until the touch combined with his warmth and his familiar scent soothed Lilly into a deep sleep. He was very tempted to fall asleep with her, since he was losing almost as much sleep as she was with all the patrolling the pack had to do. But he also knew he would have a hard time waking up again, and then he definitely wouldn't want to get up.

When it neared time for his patrol, he really didn't want to leave. Jake pressed a soft kiss to Lilly's forehead for several seconds before carefully pulling away, making sure he didn't disturb her as he slid out of bed and left the room.

XXX

Lilly slowly came to with a small smile on her face. That wasn't a normal reaction after having a nightmare, but the one she just had was very different. It had started very similar to the others; the vampire had found her in the woods, but this time there were no dead bodies, her parents weren't there. He'd just been about to attack her when the pack came racing out of the trees. Jake's wolf had stayed at her side while the rest of the pack chased him down. Jake had wound himself around her, blocking her sight of the direction they'd disappeared in. His wet nose had bumped her chin and cheek, his woodsy scent wrapping around her in a way similar to his large, russet-furred body. A loud howl had ripped through the sky and a second later, Jake's fur had melted away and she was wrapped tightly in his strong arms, cradled gently to his chest as he whispered into her hair, "He's dead. He can't hurt you ever again."

Those words had echoed in Lilly's head as she was gently pulled from sleep, causing the small smile that was spread across her lips. It took her a few seconds to realize that Jake's scent wasn't a figment of her imagination left over from her dream, but it was much stronger than she was used to when waking up.

Looking around, she realized it was because she wasn't in her own room, she was in Jake's room, and that realization brought back her memory of Jake offering to let her nap in his room while he patrolled.

She rolled onto her side to look at the clock hanging on the wall. It was 1:30, meaning Jake's patrol would be over in about half an hour. Her stomach rumbled, announcing it's hunger. It made sense, considering she'd skipped both breakfast and lunch. However, she was too lazy and comfortable to get up just yet. So, she stayed curled up in her boyfriend's bed, waiting for him to come back.

A bit after 2:00, Lilly could hear someone moving around in the kitchen. A little bit later, Jake came in the room with a large plate filled with peanut butter sandwiches with a couple glasses of milk balanced on the plate. He smiled when he saw Lilly awake.

"Hey. You sleep okay?" he asked, carefully placing the plate on his bedside table and moving the milk glasses onto the flat surface beside the plate.

"Mhm." she smiled, stretching her arms over her head. "That was probably the best sleep I've had in a while." she admitted quietly before sitting up and scooting back to lean against the headboard.

"That's good to hear." Jake smiled in relief as he sat down next to her. "So, you didn't have a nightmare?" he checked, turning to grab the plate and one of the glasses to hand to her.

"Well,…I did have a nightmare," she admitted quietly, holding the glass of milk in both hands, "but it had a happy ending." she finished with a small smile before taking a sip.

Jake looked confused as he placed the plate on the bed, resting on their touching legs so they could both eat from it. "How does a nightmare have a happy ending?"

Lilly told him what happened in her nightmare, pausing every minute or so to take a bite of her first sandwich to stem her empty stomach. By the time she was done, four of the sandwiches were gone and Jake had a smug grin on his face. He threw his arm over her shoulder and pulled her in close.

"So, basically sleeping in my room caused you to have good dreams." he stated happily. "And technically, even though you didn't mention it, if I phased back and immediately hugged you, there's no way I had time to pull on my shorts. _Sooo,_ …I was naked when I hugged you." he smirked widely at her.

Lilly blushed, but covered it by rolling her eyes and looking in the opposite direction. "Of course that's the first place your mind went to." she muttered, making sure he heard her. Jake laughed happily, squeezing her close and kissing the top of her head quickly before pulling back to eat another sandwich.

Lilly grabbed her next one and began eating as well, this time a bit faster than her first one since she didn't have to talk while eating. Fifteen minutes later, all the sandwiches were gone and their glasses empty. Jake took Lilly's glass from her and placed both glasses and the plate on the bedside table to take into the kitchen later.

"So, um, I've actually got something for you." Jake announced hesitantly as he stood up.

Lilly watched him in confusion as he crossed his room toward his small dresser, pulling open the top drawer. He carefully pulled out a bundled old T-shirt and carried it over to the bed, sitting cross-legged and facing her.

"Why?" Lilly asked curiously, looking between the item in Jake's lap and his face. "It's not my birthday or anything."

Jake shrugged, fiddling with the tattered edge of the T-shirt he had wrapped around the item. "I just thought, maybe, well…just here." He extended his hands and gently handed it to Lilly. She took it carefully, noticing how careful he was being with it. She figured it was fragile if he was being so careful. She gently placed it in her lap, glancing back up at Jake once more before carefully unwrapping the T-shirt to find…a dreamcatcher.

The dreamcatcher was about a foot in diameter, and the outer rim was about an inch thick, being made up of several twigs woven together. In the center of the dreamcatcher was the picture Lilly had drawn for Jake. It had been laminated and cut in a sort of jagged circle so the picture was focused mainly on Jake's wolf. The points of the jagged circle had small holes so the leather string could weave through them and hold the picture in the center of the dreamcatcher. There were five leather strings tied to the bottom. The two outer strands each had one cowrie shell and then a cerith shell on the end. The two inner leather strings each had a medium-sized, smooth pebble wrapped almost decoratively in the leather string to hold it in place. Finally, the fifth leather string in the middle had two beautiful Eagle feathers tied to the end, the feathers both white with black ends.

Lilly's mouth parted in aw as her fingers traced the outer rim of the dreamcatcher.

"I wanted to put one of the sketches you made of my wolf so, you know, I could protect you in your dreams and all, but I figured you wouldn't appreciate me digging around in your sketchpad for a picture. I hope…well, I don't want you to be upset that I used the picture you drew for me, and I'm sorry if you are. I just-"

Lilly leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, effectively ending his rambling. Jake tilted his head and returned the kiss enthusiastically, one hand coming up to touch her cheek. When she pulled away, Lilly held Jake's hand in hers.

"Jake, I love it. I'm not upset, not even close. I can sketch another picture for you, it's not that big of a deal." she assured him quietly.

Jake smiled in relief. "So…you like it, then?"

"I love it." she promised, looking back down at it again, her fingers gently tracing the feathers. "You'll have to help me hang it up sometime soon." she added, looking back up at him with a smile.

"I could do it really quick when I take you home later." Jake offered easily, wanting to put it up as soon as possible to see if it may help. They had about a week left of summer, and then the first day of school would be upon them. Jake wanted Lilly, as well as the rest of the pack, to catch up on their sleep before school started. Billy, per Jake's suggestion, had pulled some strings with the school board to ensure that Lilly would have at least one pack member in all of her classes.

Lilly smiled, "Okay, that works."


	14. Chapter 14

A series of loud bangs jolted Lilly from her peaceful sleep, making her lurch upright in her bed.

"Lilly! I'm not calling you again! Wake up! You have school in an hour!" Abby shouted through the door.

Lilly groaned, wiping her hands down her face to try and clear the bleariness from her eyes. She pushed her blanket away so its warmth wouldn't draw her back to sleep as she sat there and allowed herself to wake up for a moment. When she turned to sit on the edge of her bed she glanced over and her eyes caught sight of Jake's dreamcatcher hanging on the wall just above her headboard.

A smile came to her lips. Since the first night she slept with that dreamcatcher hanging above her, she'd had less nightmares and the ones she did have didn't end with bodies at her feet or a vampire lunging at her.

Sighing, Lilly forced herself to stand and grabbed the outfit she'd picked out before bed, carrying it into the bathroom for a quick shower. She let her hair air-dry in its natural waves while getting dressed. She ate a bowl of cereal as her Gran was leaving for work.

Just as she was finishing her breakfast, there was a knock on the door and Jake peaked inside.

As he was opening his mouth, Lilly hurried from the kitchen and grabbed her backpack. "I'm coming! I'm coming!" she shouted, hurrying toward the door.

Jake grinned, stepping back so she could get out before closing the door behind her. "We've got time, you know. I was just going to let you know I was here." he told her, his voice full of amusement.

Lilly stuck her tongue out at him, hurrying around the car and getting in the front passenger seat. She turned and waved at Brady and Collin in the backseat, who returned it with waves of their own. Then, Brady leaned forward and ruffled her hair.

"Brady!" she whined, running her fingers through her hair and trying to smooth out the frizzles.

Jake chuckled as he started driving, holding Lilly's hand with one of his.

"So, how was patrol last night?" Lilly asked curiously.

Brady groaned, slouching in his seat. "It was so _boooorrring_! There was absolutely no sign of that leech, or anything else, the whole time."

Lilly relaxed subconsciously. Due to school starting back up Sam, with the help of Jared and Jake, had rearranged the patrol shifts.

Not being in school, Sam, Paul, Jared, and Leah would be pairing off to run either from 6 in the morning to 11, or from 11 to 5. All the pack members still in school would split the rest of the hours in the day up in pairs; the shifts being from 5 to 9, 9 to 1 in the morning, and 1 to 6. Weekends would be a bit different, but Lilly wasn't completely sure how those were set up.

"Boring's a good thing, dude." Jake pointed out, glancing at Brady in the rearview mirror. "It means the leech is nowhere near Lilly."

"Unless he's just waiting for the perfect moment to attack." Collin muttered.

A _smack_ filled the small car and Collin whined, but Lilly focused on the fact that Jake's grip had tightened on the wheel. She knew it was mostly because the whole situation was a catch-22. It was good that they were bored in the sense there wasn't a rogue vampire attacking their borders every night. It was bad because it most likely meant he was biding his time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike, probably when the pack let their guards down.

Lilly lifted hers and Jake's linked hands, pressing a short kiss to his knuckles before lowering them back to her lap, feeling Jake relax at the contact. He gently squeezed her hand in silent thanks and they reached the school parking lot a few minutes later. After parking the car, the small group went to the office to pick up their schedules.

"What's your schedule look like?" Jake asked curiously as they headed down the hall toward their lockers. Lilly silently handed hers over to him to look over himself when she reached her locker.

"We've only got two classes together, math and gym. You'd think if my dad was going to pull strings to get a pack member in all your classes, he could get me in at least a couple more classes. Even just study hall!" Jake complained as Lilly put her backpack in her locker, grabbing the books she'd need for her first couple classes.

She rolled her eyes at him, closing her locker. "Now you're thinking like a teenage boy, not a protector."

"I thought that's what you wanted me to do." Jake shot back with a small smirk before handing her schedule back to her and heading toward his own locker a few down. While the couple was there Embry and Quil met them, since their own lockers were on either side of Jake's due to the Alphabetical order of their last names.

Having already compared their schedules with the rest of the pack, the duo were able to fill Jake and Lilly in on who was in all of Lilly's classes.

Lilly's first class, History, was with Embry; Algebra 2 was with Jake; Intro to Business she had with Embry; then lunch with everyone; Study Hall with Seth and Quil; Art with Quil; she had Gym with Embry, Quil, _and_ Jake, which would certainly be interesting; and finally she had English with Embry.

"What the hell? Why does she get four classes with you and only two with me?" Jake grumbled, glaring at Embry.

Embry shrugged. "I don't know. For one, I signed up for Business class and you didn't."

Lilly covered her mouth to muffle her laughter at the scowl Jake sent Embry's way. When she composed herself she looped her arm through Jake's, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Oh, relax. Between math, lunch, and gym you'll see me plenty throughout the day." she assured him just as the bell rang.

Jake nodded before giving her a quick kiss goodbye so she could walk down the hall with Embry for their first hour class.

XXX

Overall, classes were pretty boring, since most of them were spent going over syllabuses and talking about what each class would be covering during the first semester. Nothing too strange, eventful, or shocking happened. That is, until gym class came around.

When Lilly entered the gymnasium with Jake, Quil, and Embry they found an unfamiliar face. Judging by the fact that he was handing out papers and telling other students to have a seat on the floor in the center of the gym, he was their new gym teacher.

He rivaled Jake in height, being about 6 ½ feet tall, and was ripped, the muscles of his arms were almost as chiseled as the packs'. His skin wasn't quite as tan as the rest of the natives, and his black hair looked like it was once a short buzz cut, but it was growing out a bit, and he had a bit of stubble. When Lilly approached him to take the syllabus from him, he gave her a kind smile and she noticed his eyes were a light blue in color. It looked unique, but captivating in a way.

Once their small group got their papers, they turned and took seats among the other students on the floor. There looked to be students from 10th, 11th, and 12th grades, probably to make sure their class had enough students to play team sports.

When the tardy bell rang the new teacher stepped in front of everyone, taking a tall stance with his feet shoulder-width apart and his hands braced behind his back.

"Obviously, none of you recognize me seeing as I just moved here not too long ago and this will be my first year being a gym teacher. You guys treat me and your classmates with respect and this'll be a fun year. Give me an attitude or avoid participation and you'll be running quite a few laps. Are we clear?" He waited until everyone in the class nodded before continuing, "My name's Kaden Hunter. You can call me Mr. Hunter, Coach Hunter, or just Coach. Now, I'll give roll. When I call your name, call 'here' and then tell me one thing about yourself."

He picked up a clipboard off a metal, folding chair behind him and began reading off names in Alphabetical order. "Quil Ateara."

"Here." Quil raised his hand. When his hand dropped back to his lap he shrugged casually. "I'm awesome."

A few people laughed and Jake and Embry scoffed, Jake going so far as to shove Quil and cause him to topple over on his side.

Mr. Hunter chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. He called a couple more names before he called, "Jacob Black."

"Here. Um,…I like working on cars."

The teacher nodded, looking impressed. "Nice. I thought about majoring in Automotive Technology. My brother and I used to work on cars all the time." Jake grinned at the teacher's response before he continued by calling Embry's name. About five more students' names were called before he got to Lilly. "Lilly Fuller."

Lilly raised her hand. "Here." She ignored the fact that several students had been looking at her expectantly, as if they expected her to go back to her silence even though she'd started talking before last school year had ended. "And, um…" she thought for a moment, glancing at Jake. She wasn't sure what to say. Finally, she shrugged and went with a sort of lame answer, "I have a dog?" It came out as a question, and she mentally cringed because it was the most boring thing she could've said.

Mr. Hunter chuckled and grinned at her. "So, you're a dog person, huh? Nothing wrong with that. I've got a Husky-German Shepard mix named Major. What kind of dog do you have?"

"Jack Russell Terrier named Dash." she answered, trying not to duck her head in embarrassment. Luckily, he moved onto the next student on the roster. They finished a few minutes later, and then moved on to going over the syllabus. They finished it pretty quick, and Mr. Hunter gave them the rest of the class to talk among themselves.

 **XXX**

 **Pretty boring and uneventful, but they had to go back to school eventually. Let me know what you all thought.**

 **And yes, Kaden Hunter was the winning name for the original character who was introduced in this chapter. He won't be in the story again for quite a while, though. Let me know what you thought.**


	15. Chapter 15

"Seriously, you're leaving me in the dust. What's number 5?" Jake whined, trying to look at Lilly's math notebook, which she covered with her arm.

"I'm not giving you the answer. Here." She leaned over and explained how the math problem in question was solved.

"Seriously, Jake, how did you ever pass math without Lilly?" Rachel teased, going through a folder her new employer had given her to look through before her first day on Monday. Jake and Paul weren't too pleased that her new job was in Port Angeles, but thanks to a loophole in the Treaty, as long as they were in human form one of the guys could go with her. Unfortunately that will also stretch the pack just a bit thinner than they would like. But at least she got weekends off.

Jake glared at his sister, who was sitting on the armchair in the Blacks' living room. "I would've managed, thank you very much."

Lilly fought a smile as she circled her answer for number 9. "So Rach, where's Paul?"

Jake made a noise in the back of his throat, clearly not wanting to talk about his sister's boyfriend. But Lilly was curious, because pretty much the only times Paul and Rach weren't around each other was when Paul was on patrol, and he wasn't scheduled to patrol until later in the evening.

Rachel smiled. "He's got a part-time job so he can start saving up some money. He wants to move out of his dad's place."

Jake looked up from his homework and eyed his sister suspiciously. "And when he moves out, you're not moving in, are you?"

Rachel pursed her lips in embarrassment, her eyes fixed on her papers even though it was obvious she was no longer reading them. "Um, I don't know, Jake. It may take a little while for him to have the money, or a decent house. Who knows where we'll be in our relationship by then?"

Jake grumbled under his breath before he paused and looked up to watch the front door curiously. Lilly's brow furrowed before she followed his eyes and watched the front door. After a few moments she heard the low hum of voices outside the door before it opened.

"Becca, please just-"

"Embry, no. I-I just need to be alone, okay?" Rebecca cut Embry off as she entered the house, practically closing the door in his face. She took a deep breath, staring down at her shoes before she looked up. She paused when she realized Rach, Jake, and Lilly were all staring at her. Rebecca swallowed, her eyes dropping as she made her way past them through the room and down the hall, the click of her bedroom door echoing in the quiet house.

Rachel was the one to end the tense silence. "I think I should talk to her. Lilly, you want to help? I'm guessing this involves imprinting, I may be wrong though."

Lilly nodded, closing her notebook and textbook. "Sure, but if she just wants to talk to you, I'll leave you guys alone." She stood up, but both girls stopped and looked expectantly down at Jake.

He paused in writing in his notebook and looked up at them. He took in their expressions and sighed. "You're going to make me leave, aren't you?"

"Yes please." the two girls answered together. Jake sighed, but stood up and kissed Lilly's cheek before leaving the house.

"Becca?" Rachel called, knocking on her sister's door.

"I don't want to talk right now, Rach." Becca's dull voice responded, slightly muffled.

"Becks, please. I think I know what this is about, please just let us in so we can talk about it." Rachel pleaded, waiting a few seconds for a response.

"Who's 'us'?" she finally asked.

"Me and Lilly."

"I can leave if you'd rather just talk to Rachel." Lilly added, not wanting to risk Rebecca shutting them both down if she didn't want to talk to Lilly.

There was a quiet sigh before she answered, "No, that's fine. You can both come in."

Rachel didn't need to be told twice, opening the door before her twin even finished speaking. They found Rebecca lying facedown on her bed, which would explain why her voice was muffled. She turned over and sat up against her headboard so there was room for both Rach and Lilly to sit across from her on the bed.

"Okay, so why'd you slam the door on one of the sweetest guys in the world?" Rach asked bluntly, causing Becca to flinch mildly. She glared at her twin for a few moments before speaking.

"He told me about imprinting."

Rachel and Lilly both nodded slowly, already having guessed that was the issue.

"And?" Rachel urged.

Rebecca sighed harshly. "I don't understand why you of all people are just _okay_ with your choice in love being taken away from you. I mean, seriously! After what happened between you and Brent you'd think you'd be a bit more cautious."

Rachel winced at the reminder of her college boyfriend who dumped her after she gave him her virginity on their one year anniversary.

"That has nothing to do with imprinting. Paul may not be perfect, but he's ten times the man Brent ever was."

Rebecca scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief. "Yeah? And what about what imprinting did to Leah? Her boyfriend dumped her for her cousin! How can you possibly think imprinting is a good thing after knowing that?"

Rachel sighed patiently. "Look, Becks, I get it. I reacted badly to imprinting, too. I yelled at Paul and basically threw him out of the house. But Lilly, Leah, and Emily talked me down."

" _Leah_ talked you down." Rebecca repeated in disbelief before her eyes moved to Lilly. "And what about you? What kinds of good things can you possibly come up with when it comes to imprinting?"

Lilly swallowed, glancing nervously at Rachel. She wasn't used to Rebecca being this negative and harsh. "Well, if it weren't for imprinting, Jake never would've looked at me. He was obsessed with Bella at the time. At first, he didn't want anything to do with me."

"And you're perfectly fine with the fact that he hated you and is forced to be with you?" Becca questioned scornfully.

"Rebecca!" Rachel hissed. "Just because you don't like the situation doesn't give you the right to lash out at someone who's trying to help you. If you don't watch it, Jake'll get pissed and forbid you from ever going _near_ Lilly again."

Rebecca ducked her head, looking up between them in shame. "I…I'm sorry." she whispered, pulling her knees up to her chest. "It's just,…I just got divorced. I want to take time to find myself again. I don't even want to _think_ about being in another relationship. I mean, what's the point in forcing people to be together? Do the spirits think we can't pick a suitable 'mate' ourselves?"

"To be fair, you got divorced and I got dumped." Rachel pointed out dully, pulling her knees up to her chest with her legs crossed at her ankles.

Rebecca glared weakly at her twin before sighing and dropping her head back against her backboard.

Lilly bit her lip, unsure if she should speak up after the way Becca lashed out at her. "Um,…you know, there's no rule that says you have to be in a relationship. Not all the imprinted pairs are in a relationship."

Becca narrowed her eyes. "Like who?" she asked doubtfully.

"Quil and Claire aren't in a relationship."

Rebecca's brows lifted. "I don't even know who Claire is, and I didn't know Quil imprinted."

"Well,…she's Emily's niece. She lives on the Makah rez and can only visit once in a while."

"How old is she?"

"Fourteen. She'll be fifteen in a few days. Actually, Emily's throwing her a small birthday party down here next weekend, since not all of us could make it down there this weekend for the party her parents are throwing her." Lilly explained quietly.

Rebecca rolled her eyes. "Well, of course those two aren't in a relationship. In my opinion fourteen year olds shouldn't have boyfriends. They lack the maturity to understand relationships."

"You've met Quil, right?" Rachel teased, "He's sixteen, and he still lacks the maturity."

Lilly grinned and Rebecca fought her own smile. "Whatever. My point is, besides those two, every other pair became a couple."

"Well, Jake and I were friends after he told me." Lilly pointed out.

"And how long between him telling you about imprinting and you two becoming a couple?" Becca asked knowingly.

Lilly looked down in embarrassment. "Well,…between him telling me and our first date…about two weeks." she admitted.

Becca snorted. "Yeah, cause that totally counts."

Lilly rolled her eyes. "Okay, but that doesn't count because we both…felt a mutual attraction for one another. If I didn't want to go on a date he wouldn't have pushed me for it."

"And you've clearly heard some rumors around the rez about Paul." Rachel added, "He's never pushed me for more than I'm ready for. He _lets me_ call the shots."

Rebecca chewed her lip, her brows low over her eyes and she looked at war with herself. "But…Embry's just a kid! He's sixteen! He's my baby brother's best friend!"

"If you really think about it,…sure they may technically be kids…but with how much they've all had to shoulder the past couple years they've all grown up well beyond their years. And physically, they _do not_ look like kids." Rachel finished with a small smirk. Rebecca fought a matching smirk, trying to scowl at her twin.

"Easy for you to say. Paul's basically the same age as you!"

Rachel's brows furrowed slightly before she slowly shook her head. "No he's not."

Becca looked confused. "What do you mean? He's like, twenty or something, right?"

Rachel grinned. "Nope. He's 18. He just graduated last year."

Becca's mouth fell open in shock. "You're kidding. He looks at least 20, if not older. Do the spirits or whoever match up these people enjoy age gaps?"

Rachel and Lilly laughed. It was sort of true. The only pairs that were the same age was Lilly and Jake, and Sam and Emily. All the other imprinted pairs were at least a year apart in age, with Embry and Rebecca having the largest age gap at four years.

"To be fair, one or two years isn't so bad. I mean, I can understand you being uneasy with Embry being four years younger than you, but you've gotta stop focusing on age. As long as they phase, they're immortal. Taha Aki lived, what, 200 years? Age isn't a big deal when you take everything else into account."

Becca chewed her lip again, looking thoughtfully between Rachel and Lilly again.

"Okay, so…age isn't that much of a deal,…and Embry really is a great guy. I really do like him…But come on. Him saying that he'd be whatever I need him to be, that he's fine with being friends?! Everything aside, he's still a teenage guy. They're horny. They don't just have girls for friends, especially not when we're…whatever we are. _Imprints_. That's just too fairytale-esque."

Lilly chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment, debating if the words she wanted to say would do more harm than good.

Finally, she sucked in a breath and spoke. "What if I could tell you that I know for a fact what he thinks and wants in regards to your imprint?"

Both twins eyed her with a mixture of curiosity and doubt. "How would you know exactly what he thinks?"

"Because he told both me and Jake what he thought the day he imprinted on you, and he wouldn't lie to Jake and risk Jake seeing the truth in his head later. I can't remember word-for-word what he said, and if you don't believe me you can ask Jake sometime…but he said that he wants to be there for you, and for you to feel like you can go to him for anything,…oh, he said that the asshole who hurt you is the biggest moron on the face of the earth," Lilly paused and fought a smile when the twins both burst out laughing, only continuing when they started to calm down, "He wants you to know how amazing you are. And he just wants what's best for you." Lilly finished with a small smile, tilting her head a bit.

Rebecca dipped her head down, but Rachel and Lilly barely caught the glistening in her brown eyes. After a few moments she chuckled tearfully, tilting her head up toward the ceiling and wiping her fingers under her eyes to catch the couple tears that escaped.

"Damn it, why is he so sweet?" she laughed shakily, her hands falling back into her lap. "Now I feel like a total bitch for how I treated him. I could tell before he even started talking that he was scared to tell me, and I still went off on him. I'm a horrible person."

"No you're not." Lilly argued.

"You said so yourself, most people wouldn't be okay with having their choice in their love life taken away, and that's what imprinting comes off as at first." Rachel pointed out.

Rebecca slouched back against her pillow. "Still. I should talk to him."

"Remember you can't leave the house without a wolf. Give him a call or call one of the other pack members if you can't get a hold of him." Rachel suggested.

"Okay."

 **XXX**

 **There you go, Embry finally told Rebecca about the imprint!**

 **The ending of this chapter kinda sucks, but whatever. And I'm sorry I'm a day late in updating, I was sick yesterday and spent most of the day in bed, and whatever time I wasn't in bed I made my dad watch Harry Potter with me.**

 **Anyway, let me know what you think : )**


	16. Chapter 16

Lilly peaked out the back window of Sam and Emily's house to see several people mingling in the backyard. Claire was laughing with Collin, Brady, and Quil, surrounded by purple streamers and tables with white and purple tablecloths. The other girls were helping take the food out, and Sam was setting up the grill while everyone else finished setting up the decorations or talked among themselves.

"Um, Lilly, could you take the burger patties outside?" Emily's voice sounded off, and when Lilly looked over her shoulder toward the kitchen, she caught a glimpse of Emily rushing out of the room and up the stairs.

Lilly stood there for a moment, surprised and confused before doing as Emily asked. She grabbed one of the large plates of raw hamburger patties and carried it outside toward the grill. Sam looked up and grinned at her.

"Hi, here's your hamburgers." she greeted him, placing the plate on the small table next to the grill.

"Thanks." he started putting patties on the grill as she walked away, passing Rebecca, who was carrying the second plate of patties. She went back inside, the sound from outside becoming muted the second the door closed behind her. She paused in the kitchen and glanced up the stairs. After a moment she heard the toilet flush and the sound of water running through pipes above her head.

She pursed her lips before going up the stairs and pausing outside the bathroom door. After a few moments of no sound, she hesitantly knocked on the door.

"Emily, are you okay?" she called hesitantly.

There was a shuffling sound before Emily sighed heavily. "Yeah, I'm fine, Lilly."

Lilly wasn't sure she believed her. "Are you sure?"

There was some more shuffling before the door slowly opened and Emily peaked out at her. She looked around the corner before opening the door a bit further. "Um, I just needed to go to the bathroom. No big deal."

Lilly eyed her doubtfully. "Why are you being so weird about it, then?" she asked.

Emily opened her mouth, like she wanted to answer, but then sighed in defeat, slouching against the side of the doorway. "I haven't told anyone yet…but I'm pregnant." she admitted quietly.

Lilly's mouth fell open, the corners curving up into a smile. "Oh my gosh! Congratulations!" she stepped forward and hugged the older girl, who laughed lightly and returned the hug. When they pulled away, Lilly questioned, "Wait, you mean you haven't told Sam yet?"

Emily sighed, running a hand back through her hair, causing her short bangs to fall back in place almost messily over her forehead. "No, not yet. I only found out a few days ago, and I'm only about a month along at most, so there's no heartbeat for Sam or the pack to hear yet. And…I don't know if I should tell Sam or not." she admitted quietly.

"What? Why wouldn't you want to tell Sam? He'll be happy, right?" Lilly questioned worriedly.

"Oh, yeah I'm pretty sure he'll be happy. He really wants a family, maybe not this soon, but I know he'll be happy." Emily nodded assuredly. "I just…with everything going on with the vampire, I know he's already really worried about so many things. When he finds out I'm pregnant he'll freak out. He probably won't let me leave the room without him or someone keeping an eye on me. He probably won't let me cook as much, he'll insist I should take it easy, and I love that about him, I do, but I also need to help take care of the pack. Most of those guys can barely cook toaster waffles!" she ended her minor rant in a more joking tone, and Lilly chuckled lightly along with her.

"Okay, yeah he'll probably be a bit overbearing. Maybe you should get him a bunch of pregnancy books to read so he won't freak out as much." Lilly suggested, only partially joking. Emily laughed.

"Not a bad idea." she admitted quietly before sighing, crossing her arms over her chest. "I should tell him, huh?" she smiled, peaking up at Lilly from under her lashes.

Lilly shrugged. "It's up to you when you tell him, but you obviously can't keep it a secret for very long."

Emily nodded before her smile grew just a bit. "I'll tell him after the party sometime. Today is about Claire, I'm not stealing the spotlight."

"Emily?" The two girls looked down the hall and stairs just as Sam appeared at the bottom of the steps. "What are you doing?"

Emily glanced at Lilly before looking back down at him. "We were just talking. I'll be down in a minute, I need to wash my hands."

Sam nodded slowly, looking a little suspicious. "Alright. Do you want us to bring the cake outside now or later?"

"Later." she answered immediately, "If you take it out now it'll be gone before the burgers are done cooking."

Sam smirked a bit before turning and walking back outside. Lilly grinned at Emily before going down the stairs and taking a few of the side dishes out to the backyard with everything else.

The party was pretty fun. Not everyone got Claire presents, only the people who were closest to her like Sam and Emily, Quil, Seth, and Leah. It was mainly spent talking, laughing, playing games, and eating; all together as one group. Occasionally, a couple wolves had to switch off for patrols so everyone would have a chance to have fun. Lilly even miraculously got roped into a game of soccer, the only girls being her, Claire, and Leah.

Around 5:00, Sue Clearwater came and picked Claire up to take her back to her home on the Makah Rez, with plans to stop for ice cream on the way. Emily gave everyone else instructions to clean up the backyard, and only Lilly noticed her subtly lead Sam into the house, no doubt to tell him her news.

Sure enough, five minutes later Sam and Emily came back outside, hand-in-hand.

"Guys! We've got some news!" Sam announced, a smile wider than Lilly had ever seen on him stretched across his face. When everyone fell silent and turned to watch them, Sam grinned down at his fiancé before turning back to the crowd. "We're having a baby!"

Several people erupted in cheers, a few of the girls rushing forward to hug Emily while a couple of the guys gave Sam high fives and pats on the back. Lilly hung back, since she already new, and also because she noticed Leah hanging back as well. She could tell the she-wolf was fighting to keep her blank mask over her face.

Lilly slowly approached Leah, stopping and turning to watch the crowd with the taller girl. "You okay?" she asked quietly.

Leah sucked in a deep breath through her nose, letting it out slowly a few seconds later. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Lilly could tell by the tone of her voice that she was nowhere near being 'fine'. "I just…do you think it would hurt less if I imprinted?" she finally asked, her voice little more than a whisper.

Lilly chewed the inside of her cheek, thinking that over. "I think," she started slowly, "that you went through something that hurt you and left you with some serious trust and commitment issues." she said carefully, hoping Leah wouldn't deck her. "Imprinting isn't some…magical source of healing. You wouldn't just forget all the pain and how much all of this kills you inside. Would it help? Maybe. But it wouldn't make everything better instantly. That's something you've got to do yourself, with help, of course."

Leah gave her a small smile. "Thanks. I guess you're right. I just…I was just getting used to the idea of being her maid of honor whenever they get around to having a wedding. Now getting this bombshell, it's going to take some time to get used to that, too."

Lilly nodded in understanding. She waited with Leah for a few more minutes before going to congratulate the couple herself.

XXX

It was almost 9 at night when Lilly opened the front door to her home and walked inside, Jake following behind her. They walked past the kitchen, where Abby was sitting at the table drinking a mug of tea.

"Hi Gran, I'm home." Lilly announced with a smile.

Abby smiled over the rim of her mug. "I can see that. I didn't think Claire's party would go so late, Sue was talking about taking her out for ice cream on the way home."

"Yeah, they left around 5, and Emily and Sam had some good news, so we stuck around to celebrate." Lilly answered.

"What kind of good news?" Abby asked.

"That's for them to tell you, not me." Lilly answered, "Can, um, can Jake hang out in my room for a little while?"

Abby glanced from her granddaughter to Jake, who kept his expression carefully blank to hide his hopefulness.

"Well, it is the weekend, so…I suppose he could stay the night if he really wanted, _however_ …there will be no funny business under my roof. Understand, Jacob Black?" Abby gave him a stern look, and Jake nodded instantly.

"Absolutely. No funny business, promise." Jake agreed before quickly pulling Lilly toward her room, more to get away from Abby's all-knowing eyes.

Lilly laughed as soon as they entered her bedroom, closing the door behind her. "Is the big, bad wolf afraid of my grandmother?" she teased, sitting on her bed and scooting back against her headboard.

Jake glared at her as he slipped his shoes off. "Not afraid. I have a healthy… _respect_ for her shooting capabilities."

Lilly snorted, but didn't comment. She simply scooted over a bit to make room for Jake in her small bed. Since his dreamcatcher had proven to be a success, Abby wasn't as tolerant of Jake staying the night, so Lilly was surprised her Gran had allowed it for the night. Jake laid down on the bed with a sigh, letting Lilly nestle into his side.

"Man, I can't believe Emily's pregnant. We're going to have a little Uley running around here soon." Jake murmured thoughtfully.

"Mhm. What do you think it's going to be?" Lilly asked quietly.

"How would I know? A bunch of the guys and imprints are making bets on what they think it is. Paul and Quil bet that it's a boy, Jared, Rachel, and Rebecca think it'll be a girl."

Lilly smiled. "Can you imagine Sam having a little girl? She'd have him wrapped around her little finger before she's a day old."

Jake chuckled. "Yeah, she would. Whatever it is, the whole pack's going to spoil it like crazy. Poor kid's going to be smothered by all his or her crazy aunts and uncles."

Lilly laughed quietly, her thumb brushing over the shirt covering his ribs.

They laid in silence for a few minutes, Jake's hand just barely under Lilly's shirt, resting on the small of her back.

"Lil?"

"Hm?"

Jake turned his head to look down at her, examining her sleepy face, her eyes droopy and a small smile on her lips as she stared blankly across the room. "Have you…I mean…Have you ever thought about that?"

Lilly looked up at him, shifting to rest her chin on his pec and her brows furrowed in confusion. "Thought about what?"

Jake swallowed a bit, giving a small shrug to play his question off as nonchalance. "Well, you know…kids, marriage, family type stuff."

A smile tugged at Lilly's lips. "In that order, huh?"

Jake glared at her, fighting down his own smile. Lilly bit her lip for a moment to stop herself from laughing. She cleared her throat, schooling her features as she moved her hand from his ribs up to his chest near her chin.

"I don't know…maybe a little bit. I mean, lots of girls picture that stuff at some point." she admitted quietly.

"So,…what are your thoughts on it?"

"Thinking pretty far ahead there, slick." Lilly teased. Jake looked away in embarrassment. "Hey," Lilly lifted her hand to his cheek, turning him back to her. Her eyes searched his, taking in the nervous glint in them. "Jake,…have you thought about it?"

Jake grinned sheepishly. "Possibly." Her curious smile urged him on. "Well, I've always known I'd want a family when I got older. I've never really gone so far as to picture what they'd look like or think of names or anything,…I just know I'd like to have kids someday."

Lilly smiled, "What do you think our kids would look like?" she asked quietly, barely more than a whisper.

Jake tilted his head a bit, his eyes scanning her face thoughtfully for a moment. "Well,…obviously they'd have the typical Native looks; tan skin, black hair…I hope we have a little girl with freckles like you." he added, bringing his hand up to run his finger down the bridge of her nose and then brush his knuckles down her cheeks, both areas covered in a light sprinkling of freckles. Lilly smiled largely. "I also think at least one of them will have golden brown eyes with green flecks like you, too, while the others will have dark brown like me."

"How many are we having, exactly?" Lilly asked, her voice full of amusement, and Jake noticed how the green flecks in her eyes were lit up.

Jake shrugged playfully. "As many as you're willing to carry for 9 months." he answered simply.

"Hm, what if I only wanted to have one?" she teased.

"Then I'll push for at least two, but I will accept it if you really don't want any more." Jake answered easily.

"What if I want to have…seven?"

Jake raised an eyebrow at her. "I'd be perfectly fine with that, but with how much trouble me and my sisters got into when we were younger, I'm not sure you'd want that many mini-me's."

Lilly laughed, making Jake's smile split his face. When Lilly calmed down again, her eyes stayed trained on his smile for a moment.

"I hope they all have your smile." she whispered thoughtfully.

Jake flashed said smile just for her before adding, "With your dimples." He reached up and tapped his finger against one of the little dimples near the corner of her mouth. He thought for a moment before something popped into his mind. A smirk slowly spread over his face. "You know,…twins run in the Black family. My sisters are twins, my aunts Connie and Jennie are twins, and my dad's aunts Mary and Jane are twins, too. What do you think the odds are we'd have a set of twins?"

Lilly groaned quietly, a slight grimace pulling at her face. "Wouldn't it be more likely for Rach or Becca to have twins, since they're actually twins?" she asked nervously.

"Not really. None of the prior twins in the family had twins, it was always a different sibling. So if we were following that pattern, I'd technically be more likely to father twins than my sisters." Jake pointed out, mostly teasing.

Lilly buried her face in Jake's chest, mumbling into the warm skin, "That's scary. I don't even know if I'd be a good mom with one kid at a time, much less two."

Jake fought a smile, repeatedly running his hand through her hair and down her back. "Flower, relax. I was just messing with you. Besides, you'd be a great mom either way."

Lilly lifted her head again, moving her chin back to its spot on Jake's chest. "You'd be a great dad, too." she whispered, a small smile spread over her lips.

Jake smiled in return, leaning down to press a short kiss to her lips. He gave her a peck on the forehead before nestling down into the bed, the couple drifting off into sleep.

 **XXX**

 **Aw, aren't they adorable?**

 **I know the last few chapters have been a bit slow, but the next chapter will be more eventful, I promise. Until then, I wish everyone a Happy Easter! : )**


	17. Chapter 17

Leah swerved around a tree, only a few steps ahead of Jake, who leapt over a fallen log that was in his path. The leather jacket of the rogue leech was only a few meters ahead of them, his bright red eyes and cocky smirk smeared with blood teasing them as he fled.

Several other pack members were running from other parts of the rez, trying to find a place they could cut him off. However, a couple wolves were following the leech's trail to see what he'd been up to on their land, even though they had their suspicions.

Leah was closing in on the leech, her chomping jaws only a few feet from him when he suddenly flew into the air, climbing up the nearest tree like a monkey on a sugar high. Jake and Leah slowed, their heads tilted back and their eyes scanning the treetops to try and catch sight of the vampire again.

 _'There!'_ Jared suddenly bolted past them, his keen eyesight finding the slightest movement of the leech in the branches. Jake and Leah quickly followed Jared, their eyes also fixed on the leech as he leapt from tree to tree. Jake put on speed and quickly passed the other two when he realized the leech was heading right for the Forks border.

 _'Careful.'_ Jared warned him, not wanting to get in trouble for crossing the border.

Jake refused to believe this leech would escape yet again, but he couldn't deny it when the creep leapt clean over the river along the border, landing in a tree several meters into the Cullens' territory.

 _'Damn it!'_ Jake cursed, digging his claws into the ground and stopping himself right at the edge of the riverbank, pebbles and dirt crumbling and falling into the river below. The leech's mocking laughter echoed in the forest as he dropped to the ground and ran away at a much slower pace. Jake snarled in frustration, pacing back and forth along the border.

Jared and Leah kept their thoughts to themselves, warily keeping their eyes on their pack mate.

 _'Guys,'_ Sam's voice spoke in their minds from across the reservation, _'we've got another one.'_

They saw through Sam, Embry, and Collin's eyes what they all feared they would.

A body.

The leech had been getting braver in the couple weeks since Claire's birthday party. He'd started killing hikers and people that got too close to the woods. Unfortunately, he was doing so outside of the pack's territory, so there was little they could do to prevent it. He would kill the person somewhere else and then drag the body into their territory and leave it there, barely escaping when they found him on their land.

The first two victims had been males, a middle aged man and a teenager a few days later. This one was a female. They all tried to ignore the fact that she had black hair, like Lilly. After all, she looked nothing like Lilly, it was just the hair color. Lots of people had black hair. And this victim was at least in her mid-twenties.

Like the first two victims, the throat was slashed and her skin was pale. Only the pack could tell the slash in the throat was to cover up the bite mark, and a good portion of the blood was gone, not because of injuries, but because the leech had gotten thirsty.

 _'Quil, take the pups back to Emily's.'_ Sam suggested, his thoughts subdued. _'Paul?'_

 _'Yeah, I got it.'_ Paul already knew what his Alpha wanted. So, while the rest of the pack slowly made their way through the woods back toward Emily's, Paul carefully gripped the body in his jaws. He cringed when his teeth met the cold, yet still yielding flesh of the woman's stomach. As he carefully half-carried, half-dragged the body through the forest toward a hiking path, he tried not to gag whenever he smelled or tasted her blood. The thought made all of them want to throw up.

Jake gave his head a vigorous shake before bolting through the woods back toward Emily's house, where all the girls were hanging out, unaware of the chase that just went down. Even though they all hated keeping secrets from their imprints, none of them wanted to drop the burden of these deaths on their mates' shoulders.

 _'Jake, hold on a minute.'_ Sam called from a ways back, since Jake had left everyone in the dust, _'I think we should have a quick pack meeting before we check on the girls.'_

 _'About what?'_ Jake asked, slowing his pace a bit, _'What haven't we talked about? We've already stepped up patrols, we've gone over different strategies to try and catch this guy, what could we possibly talk about in another meeting? I just want to get back and check on Lilly.'_

 _'And you think I don't want to check on Emily? You think I don't want to rush home and hold my fiancé close and listen to my child's heartbeat? There's some things we need to discuss before we rush back. We'll get this meeting over with as quick as possible and then we can all get back to our girls.'_ Sam reasoned.

Jake growled in frustration, but finally slowed to a stop in a small clearing less than a quarter mile from Sam and Emily's house. Gradually, the rest of the pack joined him, sitting in a semicircle around the clearing. Paul was the last one to arrive after leaving the body near a hiking trail so someone could eventually find it.

 _'I think we can all agree that we need to come up with some new strategies and ideas to catch this guy. Everything we've come up with so far has fallen through, he's about as tricky as the redhead was. Jared, maybe you and I can look into some other kinds of battle strategies and see if we can come up with something.'_ Jared nodded from his spot next to his Alpha. _'In the mean time,…there was one idea I thought of that we may want to consider.'_

The whole pack turned expectant eyes on the large, black wolf at the head of the circle. They could tell by the way he was putting off saying his idea that he was hesitant to put it out there. He was normally a no-nonsense guy, just saying the truth without sugarcoating it. He knew his idea would be met with backlash.

 _'I think…we should consider asking for the Cullens' help.'_

The growls that several pack members let out were practically drowned out by their loud thoughts that were thrown at Sam in response. The few wolves that didn't lash out verbally showed their dislike of the idea by their ears flattening to their heads.

 _'You're freaking joking!'_ Jake snarled loudly, standing up and taking a couple steps forward. _'We're already dealing with one leech, I'm not getting any more of them involved in this. Lilly is terrified of vampires, I don't want anymore of them anywhere near her.'_

 _'I'm with Jake. We don't need their help, they just cause more problems. For all we know, they may backstab us and help him.'_ Paul put in, looking at Sam from his spot next to the Alpha.

 _'QUIET!'_ Sam roared loudly, causing a hush to fall over the pack, _'They owe us. We stepped in and helped them with the army, they owe us this much.'_

 _'We got involved because Lilly got dragged into it. We didn't do it for them.'_ Quil pointed out.

 _'I know, but we still got involved and helped them in the battle. They owe us. I'm not asking that we allow them on our land, but you saw what just happened. That leech took off over the border, and we can't follow him when he goes on their land. If we had their help, they could at least help us in that aspect. And maybe the mind reader could give us an upper hand.'_ Sam explained calmly.

 _'No way. It's not happening.'_ Jake growled, stepping forward until he was in the center of the circle, staring Sam down.

Sam growled back at him, his lips pulling back to reveal his fangs as he also stood up. _'It's not your call to make, Jacob._ I'm _the Alpha of this pack. I'm willing to listen to your ideas, but in the end, I'm the one who makes the decision.'_

Jake snarled viciously, his hackles raising as his wolf gradually came to the surface. With the Alpha blood in his veins, his wolf didn't take kindly to being ordered around, especially when it came to the wellbeing of his mate. Jacob, and his wolf, had been on edge ever since the leech had started coming around, just waiting for something to push him over the edge. He'd been fighting his wolf down for weeks, but Sam's suggestion set him off.

 _'There's no way in hell I'm allowing this to happen, Sam. And this is about keeping_ my _mate safe. I'm calling the shots, not you. I know how to protect Lilly better than you do, and I won't let anymore leeches near her.'_

Sam raised his head, staring down at Jake as he snarled at the younger wolf. _**'You**_ **will** _ **do as I say, Jacob.'**_ he commanded, the weight of the Alpha Command pushing down on Jake's shoulders. The rest of the pack instantly ducked their heads under the order. Jake's legs shook as he fought the command, his head lowering toward the ground as Sam stood over him, both baring their fangs at each other.

Power surged through Jake's body, rippling through his veins and muscles all the way down to his bones until the power of the Alpha Command was shaken. Free of the weight, Jake rose to his full height, squaring his shoulders as he stared Sam in the eye.

Doubt barely flickered in Sam's dark eyes as Jake stepped forward until they were almost nose-to-nose.

 _'I. Will. Not.'_ Jake snarled, his power rippling through the pack, causing them to cower even lower to the mud under the strength of the rightful Alpha. _'I am the rightful Alpha, the grandson of Ephraim Black, the last pack Alpha and Chief. I will not take orders from you, especially when it comes to the safety of my imprint.'_

 _'Are you challenging me,_ Jacob _?'_ Sam mocked, drawing himself up to his full height, even though it was only an inch taller than Jacob.

Jake didn't answer verbally. He didn't have to. His human thoughts and emotions were overridden by his wolf side. He lunged forward. Sam barely had time to rear up, meeting Jake's attack with claws and teeth bared. They snapped at each other's throats, clawing at each other's chests, shoulders, and bellies as they tried to force the other back.

The rest of the pack stood up, several pacing anxiously, their heads lowered and tails between their legs as they watched the fight.

The speed of the fight was almost too fast to be able to see. Sam got a bite into the side of Jake's neck and slashed his claws down Jake's shoulder. Jake slammed his paws into Sam's chest, shoving him back and almost knocking him off his feet. Jake then lunged forward and locked his jaws around the side of Sam's neck, just above his shoulder.

Sam yelped before he could stop himself, feeling Jake's teeth sink through his skin and grind on his bones. He lurched away, but only ended up dragging Jake with him. Jake shook his head, lurching Sam back and forth. Jake released his hold and sent Sam rolling away, but the black wolf quickly rolled back onto his feet to meet Jake's next attack. Jake leapt at him and sank his teeth into the nape of his neck, wrapping his front legs around his back and shoulders.

Sam lurched his shoulders up, knocking Jake off him and both wolves instantly reared up and locked onto each other again. Sam wrapped his front legs around Jake's neck, trying to yank him to the side and knock him off balance. Jake managed to get through Sam's defense and sink his teeth into Sam's throat. He yanked him over and knocked the older wolf to the ground. Before Sam could recover, Jake was on him, clawing his belly and clamping his jaws into Sam's neck. He shook the black wolf around while Sam tried to claw and kick at the russet wolf's belly.

Finally, Jake clamped his jaws tightly over Sam's throat. When Sam felt his air get cut off he froze, his muscles stilling in panic. Jake kept the grip tight for only a few seconds before he slackened his grip, keeping his jaws at Sam's neck in a silent warning.

Sam debated for a few seconds before relaxing, lifting his chin to willingly bare his throat to the younger wolf, a clear sign of defeat and submission. Jake held his position for a few more moments in case Sam tried to trick him, but eventually he released the former Alpha. He stayed standing over Sam, but threw his head back and let a long, powerful howl ring through the forest.

The rest of the pack threw their heads back to join their new Alpha, accepting the change in power easily.

When his howl died out, Jake stepped back from Sam, allowing the black wolf to carefully climb to his feet. He was wise in keeping his head lowered and tail between his legs, his ears flat to his head to show his submission.

Jake kept his head high, his tail in the air as his eyes swept over his pack, who all had their heads ducked, though not as low as Sam, and only the three youngest had their tails between their legs.

 _'Embry, you're my Beta, and Quil, you're Third in Command.'_ Jake announced, his tone ringing in authority to show he wasn't to be challenged in his decision. Embry's ears perked in surprise and Quil bounced to his feet, his tail wagging twice as they stepped forward to flank their new Alpha.

Paul growled quietly under his breath, not liking that he now had to take orders from the younger two. Jake jumped forward and snapped his jaws in Paul's face in warning, and the silver wolf instantly cowered and pressed his belly into the mud, his ears flat and tail tucked between his legs.

 _'I gave them the position because I know they'd both have my back if I need it, Lahote. But I also know everyone in this pack has strengths that help keep this pack strong. You want to question my decision? Because I'll be more than happy to rank you down with the pups.'_

Paul quickly shook his head, which made Leah snicker to herself.

 _'Good. Leah and Collin, go run a few rounds to ensure the leech didn't decide to double back.'_ The two wolves in question nodded before turning and racing in opposite directions toward opposite borders. _'Seth and Brady, you're dismissed. I'm sure Emily's got some food for you.'_ Those two didn't need to be told twice, bolting away as soon as Jake mentioned Emily and food. _'Finally, Sam, you wanted a meeting. The rest of us will have a quick meeting, and we'll go over some new ideas that_ don't _involve asking the Cullens for help.'_

Sam nodded, and him, Jared, Paul, Embry, Quil, and Jake sat in a circle to go over some new ideas.

XXX

Seth and Brady raced across the backyard in cutoffs, following their noses straight to the kitchen where the scent of roast beef sandwiches originated.

"Guys? What happened out there?" Lilly asked worriedly from her seat at the kitchen table. Emily, Kim, Rebecca, Rachel, and Lilly had all been in the kitchen, working together to make up some lunch for the pack when they got back from their chase, when they suddenly all felt the same sensation. Like a sort of internal shift in their guts. When they realized they all felt the same thing, they knew it was pack-related.

Seth and Brady glanced at each other, both already had their mouths full of roast beef sandwich. Finally, Seth swallowed and tried to think of an answer.

"Um, well you see,…the thing is…"

"Spit it out already, Pup." Rachel demanded anxiously, ringing her hands together.

Seth sighed. "Well,…you guys know how Jake is the rightful Alpha, but he didn't want the position and all that?"

Everyone but Rach and Becca nodded, the twins looked bewildered.

"What? Why didn't we know about this?" Becca asked.

"Oh, well long story short, since you're great grandfather was the last Alpha and Chief, it's Jake's birthright to be the next Alpha, it's in his blood. Anyway, yeah, continue Seth." Lilly explained distractedly before turning back to the young wolf.

"Well,…Sam made a suggestion Jake didn't like, and then Alpha Commanded Jake to obey,…and Jake didn't like that." Seth answered awkwardly.

Lilly and Emily exchanged a worried glance.

"What do you mean? Are they okay? What happened?" Emily demanded worriedly, her hand flying to her still-flat belly without her realizing it.

"They're both fine now." Brady answered, having finally swallowed his food. "But…Jake challenged Sam for the position as Alpha and…well, he won."

"What do you mean he won?" Rachel asked suspiciously.

"I mean they fought it out and Jake won. Sam submitted, bared his throat to Jake and everything. Jake's the new Alpha and he made Embry Beta and Quil Third. Now most of them are out in the woods having a meeting of sorts. They should be back soon." Brady answered casually.

"Are they okay? Is Sam hurt?" Emily asked worriedly.

Seth and Brady exchanged another glance before Seth answered. "Well, obviously they both gave and got a few scratches and bites, but they should be healed when they come back in. It was nothing too serious." Seth waved off, not wanting Emily to worry about Sam getting his throat clamped shut in her condition.

They sat in silence for the most part, the boys wolfing down their sandwiches and even getting fourths before the sounds of people approaching reached the girls. Lilly stood up before her brain caught up with her. She approached the kitchen doorway just as the pack entered the house through the back door. Embry, Quil, and Jared gave her smiles as they passed, but her eyes landed on the wolf that entered behind them.

Jacob.

He'd easily grown a few inches, bringing him just short of seven feet since she last saw him less than an hour ago. He had to duck to pass through doorways now. His face looked serious, his power radiating from him in waves, and he held his head with an air of authority that Sam could only ever try to accomplish. However, when his eyes landed on Lilly, he gave her his same old smile and his eyes lit up just like they always did.

Lilly ran to him and leapt into his arms, hugging him tight around his neck while his arms wrapped around the small of her back. Being in his arms, her toes dangled and bumped his knees. She was now nearly a foot and a half shorter than him.

When her cheek touched something sticky, she quickly pulled her face back and saw drying blood on the side of the his neck. Worried, she wiggled until Jake set her down and she let her eyes scan his half naked body, her hands resting on his forearms.

"Flower, I'm fine. All the wounds are completely healed, there's just some blood I've gotta wash off." Jake assured her gently, reaching up to try and brush the blood off her cheek with his thumb.

"So,…you're Alpha now?" she asked quietly, her eyes finding his.

Jake nodded silently.

"I thought you didn't want to be Alpha." she pointed out worriedly. "You said you didn't want to be in charge."

Jake shrugged and looked above her head. "I guess my wolf's got an ego problem. Didn't like being ordered around." He looked back down at her, giving her a small grin.

Lilly smiled back. "You sure it's just your _wolf_ with the ego problem?" she teased.

Jake narrowed his eyes playfully. "Just what are you implying, Ms. Fuller?"

"Nothing at all, Mr. Black." she responded.

Jake poked at her ribs, tickling her for a few moments before leading her into the kitchen, where nearly the entire pack was eating. Emily was hovering worriedly at Sam's side where he stood near the stove. Lilly left Jake's side and hurried up the stairs, grabbing two washcloths, getting them wet in the sink, and then hurrying back down into the kitchen.

She handed one to Emily before sitting in the chair next to the one Jake had taken. Jake tried to scoot her into his lap, but she gave him a stern look. Jake relented, but before the rag could touch his skin, he plucked it from her fingers and quickly wiped it across her cheek to clean off the blood she'd got from his neck.

"There. Now you can do it." he told her, handing the rag back to her. She tried to glare at him, but failed as she scooted closer and started cleaning blood from the numerous spots on his body. Emily was doing the same for Sam across the kitchen.

When Jake felt like he was clean enough, he scooped Lilly off the chair and placed her on his lap, holding her close with his arms wrapped around her middle and his lips at the back of her head.

Lilly knew there was a lot she should be worrying about. After all, Jake had nearly impeccable control over his anger and his wolf. If Sam suggested something that made him mad enough to challenge the older wolf for the position as Alpha, it most likely had something to do with her. There was something she was missing, something Jake was keeping from her, as well as the other imprints.

She should be demanding answers from Her Wolf, but in that moment all she wanted to do was let Jake hold her close and doze off surrounded by his warmth.


	18. Chapter 18

Jake scribbled down another quick note in his History notebook that rested on his right thigh. He glanced down at where his girlfriend was using his other leg as a pillow and a smile spread over his face.

Lilly, who had been lying across the couch with her History textbook and notebook balanced on her bent-up legs, had at some point fallen asleep.

Jake tilted his head, looking down at her peaceful, sleeping face, her black hair pushed up against his pant leg. She wasn't sleeping due to a lack of sleep. The dreamcatcher was doing it's job. History homework simply put her to sleep if it wasn't something that piqued her interest.

An urgent howl echoed from outside, ripping Jake from his silent observation. He quickly closed his textbook, leaving his notebook inside the page he'd been reading, and placed it on Abby's coffee table. Carefully cupping Lilly's head in his palm, Jake lifted her head so he could stand up before placing her head back on the couch.

Silently, Jake bolted out of his girlfriend's backdoor and into the night. He raced toward the trees out back, not even bothering to strip his shorts. He burst into his fur in midair, hitting the ground running.

 _'Jake! It's him! He's back!'_ Collin shouted worriedly, and Jake could see that Quil and Collin, who were on patrol, were on the leech's heels as he raced through their territory.

 _'Stay on him. I'm on my way.'_ Jake ordered, pushing himself to his full speed. He could feel the rest of the pack phasing in, no one bothering to ask for updates. They merely pieced everything together by skimming the others' thoughts. The leech didn't smell of a fresh feed, and no one could smell a dead body nearby. And he wasn't trying to run for the nearest border, he was running parallel to one of the main roads behind the houses.

 _'Wait. Guys, he's coming toward me!'_ Brady's voice chimed in, sounding both nervous and excited. The younger wolf had just gone out his own backyard and was racing straight back through the woods. If him and the leech stayed on their paths they'd soon intersect.

 _'Brady, be careful.'_ Jared warned as he ran just behind Jake.

 _'If you catch up to him before we get there, just try and slow him down. Don't try and take him down by yourself.'_ Jake added, trying to push himself faster.

Brady was quickly approaching the spot where their paths were guessed to cross, and the rest of the pack grew anxious as they tried to pick up their pace so their brother wouldn't have to handle the leech alone.

Finally, Brady flew out from between a couple trees straight toward the leech. However, the vampire leapt into the air, making Brady's jaws chomp down on air. The wolf's claws slid into the mud and leaves as he slammed on the breaks, spinning and lunging after the leech as he tried to make his escape.

Excitement surged through the whole pack like a wave when Brady managed to clamp his jaws onto the leech's forearm, his teeth sinking into the leather jacket he was wearing. The excitement, however, was short-lived as the leech used Brady's grip on his arm to swing himself around and slam the heel of his shoe into Brady's front, right leg.

The snap of his bone echoed loudly in everyone's ears through the mind link, but Brady hardly had any time to register the pain before the leech swung him hard into a tree. Brady's shoulder hit the trunk so hard the tree shook and a quiet _click_ sounded in his ear as his shoulder was slammed out of its socket. A loud cross between a howl and yelp tore from his throat as his body fell limply to the ground.

 _'Brady!'_ Collin's voice shouted in panic as him and Quil quickly gained speed, now only a couple dozen meters from the leech and Brady.

The leech smirked down at Brady before bolting toward the nearest border.

Jake made a quick mental check of everyone's positions, noting only a few members _might_ have a slim chance of catching the leech in this chase.

 _'Quil, Collin keep following him. Sam and Paul, stay on their trail just in case they need backup. Leah, follow the border to see if you can cut the bloodsucker off. It's a long shot, but just give it a try. Seth, go back to your house and tell Sue what's happened. Take her to Sam and Emily's house. Jared and Embry, you're with me.'_ Everyone followed Jake's orders instantly, pushing themselves to their limits as they all raced through the woods.

Embry fell back and headed back toward his Alpha while Jared followed Jake as the larger wolf turned and headed toward where Brady went down. They reached him in no time, wincing when they looked down at the smaller pup. He was trying to swallow back his whimpers, his whole body tense as he tried not to move. But what made their stomachs churn was that the broken bone of his front leg was stabbed through his skin.

When that image went through the pack mind, Collin stumbled, but managed to right himself.

Jake, Embry, and Jared quickly phased out, not wanting to distract the others with Brady's condition. Jared and Embry pulled their cutoffs on, but Jake had ripped his phasing. They all knelt carefully near their fallen brother, Embry carefully resting his hand on Brady's head.

"Brady, you're gonna need to phase back." Jacob told him gently. Brady whimpered at the thought, clenching his eyes shut in pain.

"You can't walk like this, and it'll be difficult for us to carry you without hurting you." Jared pointed out.

Brady groaned, his eyes still shut tight. Finally, his fur began melting away into his skin, his form shrinking and shifting. Brady's howl of pain changed into a scream as his bones popped and shifted. When his paws were hands and feet, his left hand slowly went to his right wrist, his fingers brushing his blood-soaked skin. He gritted his teeth against the pain.

The three older wolves gently lifted him into their arms before they carried him through the dark woods in the general direction of Emily's house. Luckily, it was only a quarter of a mile, so they got there in less than ten minutes. They crossed the short expanse of grass between the trees and Emily's back steps. As soon as they opened the backdoor, the girls who were in the living room were on their feet.

"What happened?" Kim demanded worriedly, taking a step toward them.

"Kim, stay back. I don't want you to see this." Jared ordered as they maneuvered Brady's tense body through the living room and up the stairs to the second floor. Jake lead them toward the spare room, placing Brady down on the bed as gently as they could.

"Sit tight, bro. Sue just pulled up. She'll take good care of you, okay?" Jake assured Brady, who gave a tense nod in answer, his jaw clenched.

Jake made a stop in Sam and Emily's bedroom to grab a pair of shorts and slipped them on before he lead Jared and Embry from the room and toward the stairs. "I left Lilly at her place. She's probably woken up by now, I should go get her. She'll want to know about this."

"She's gonna freak out. You know how close she is with Brady." Embry responded as they reached the bottom of the steps.

"I know. I'll be back soon." Jake assured them, going out the backdoor just as Sue hurried in the front door with Seth. Jake raced toward the trees, slipping the shorts back off and tying them around his ankle before phasing.

 _'He got away.'_ Quil announced dully when he felt Jake phase in. Jake sighed harshly through his nose.

 _'Okay, thanks for trying guys.'_ Jake thanked them, noticing the grim mood tainting everyone's thoughts. _'Leah, Paul; you guys run patrol for a while. I'm going to get Lilly. She'll want to know about Brady.'_

Everyone mentally grimaced, knowing Lilly wouldn't react well, before doing as their Alpha suggested. Jake made the short run to Lilly's house, phasing in the woods out back before hurrying across the backyard.

He opened to the backdoor to see Lilly sitting up and reading her History textbook. She looked up when she heard him enter and instantly stood up.

"Jake, what happened?" she asked worriedly. Jake was in front of her before she could take more than two steps.

He swallowed thickly, dreading telling her what happened. "The leech ran through the area, so the pack got called out."

Lilly could tell by how slowly he was speaking that something happened that he didn't want to tell her.

"We were chasing him, and then…Brady got hurt." he finally whispered, wrapping his arms around her lower back to hold her close.

Lilly's blood ran cold, her knees wobbling until she practically fell into Jake's chest. "What?" she breathed in horror. Her stomach churned and she felt like she'd throw up, images of Brady, a small gray and brown wolf, lying limply on the forest floor. "Is he-what happened?" she asked desperately.

Jake sighed heavily. "He tried to cut the leech off, and…well, he has a dislocated shoulder and a broken arm." he finally answered, sparing her the gory details.

"No! He can't-he, I-" Jake placed his palm over Lilly's mouth to cut off her panicked rambling.

"He'll be fine. Sue had just showed up at Emily's, where we took him, when I was leaving. By the time we get there she may be done fixing him up. He'll be fine by tomorrow." Jake told her calmly, his other hand running soothingly over her back.

When Jake removed his hand from her mouth, Lilly took a deep breath to calm herself. "Okay. Can we go see him? Please?" she asked quietly.

"Of course." Jake answered instantly, following her out the front door to where his Rabbit was parked out front. They climbed in and made the short drive to Sam and Emily's. As soon as Jake parked the car, Lilly bolted out of her seat and up the porch steps toward the door, Jake almost struggling to keep up with her.

As soon as she was inside her eyes scanned the room frantically. Sam was sitting at the table with Emily on his lap, Quil and Seth were standing near the doorway to the living room whispering among themselves, and Lilly could barely see Kim and Jared cuddling on the couch in the living room.

"Where's everyone else?" Jake asked as he came in behind Lilly, resting his arm over her shoulders.

"Collin's helping my mom with Brady upstairs." Seth answered.

"And Embry took Rebecca to pick Rachel up from work, just in case." Quil finished with a shrug.

Lilly took a deep breath before saying quietly, "I want to go upstairs."

Everyone watched in silence as Jake ducked his head close to her ear to whisper, "Lilly, maybe you should wait-"

"No. I want to see him. I need to know he's okay." she insisted firmly, her eyes staring blankly ahead.

Jake sighed in defeat before he lead her toward the stairs with his hand on her back. He followed her up the stairs and down the hall, reaching past her to knock on the spare room door when they reached it. He waited for Sue to call him in before carefully pushing the door open.

Brady was laying in the bed like Jake and the others left him. Collin was sitting at his bedside, his elbows rested on his knees and his face pale and stricken as he looked over his best friend. Sue was sitting on Brady's opposite bedside, carefully taping a white gauze over part of Brady's right arm, probably where the bone had stabbed through.

Brady offered a weak smile when he saw his cousin. "Hey, Lil."

Lilly couldn't even force a smile as she approached him, stopping next to Sue beside the bed. "Hey…h-how are you?" she asked quietly.

Brady grimaced. "I've been better, but it could've been worse, too." he answered, glancing past her at his Alpha, remembering Jake's injuries in the battle against the newborns. _'It could've been_ much _worse.'_

Lilly bit her lip to keep it from trembling as she looked her cousin over. He had a white sheet over his waist, blood stains around his hips and sides. His left arm was in a makeshift sling and Sue was wrapping gauze around his right arm, slowly covering the square bandaged already taped on it, which had a small red spot in the middle. Lilly's brow furrowed in confusion as she remembered what Jake had said about Brady's injuries.

"So,…was that arm broken?" she asked, pointing at the arm in the sling.

"Uh, no. That one was dislocated." Brady answered slowly. Jake stiffened, hoping Lilly wasn't about to accidentally uncover the details he'd kept from her.

"But then,…Jake said one was broken. Why's that one bleeding if it's broken?" Lilly asked in confusion.

Collin looked down awkwardly while Brady turned his head away so he couldn't meet Lilly's eyes. Seeing that they weren't going to answer her question, Lilly turned to look at Jake over her shoulder. He avoided her eyes, one hand going up to scratch the back of his neck.

"Sweetie," Lilly turned to look down at Sue, who had finished wrapping Brady's arm and had rested her hand on Lilly's arm. "When Brady's arm was broken, it was a relatively clean break, but it managed to puncture the skin. I've fixed it and set the bone. We just need to give it a few hours and the bone and skin will both be good as new."

Bile rose in Lilly's throat at the image that popped in her head, her hand going to cover her mouth. She felt a familiar set of hands run soothingly down her shoulders and instantly turned and buried her face in Jake's chest. Jake pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her and cradling her to his chest. His nose buried in her hair as he kissed the top of her head.

"I'm fine, Lil." Lilly turned her head just a bit at the sound of her cousin's voice. "I just…I guess I bit off more than I could chew." he finally decided.

"What exactly happened?" she finally asked, turning and resting the side of her head on Jake's chest so she could see both Brady and Collin.

"We were chasing the leech down," Jake started.

"I realized that I could cut him off when I left my house. So, that's what I decided to try. They warned me to be careful…I guess I should've listened better." Brady admitted with an apologetic glance at Jake. "I caught up with him and grabbed his arm,…but he swung around and kicked my leg." Brady shuddered, remembering the agony of feeling his bone snap in two.

"Then he kicked Brady into a tree, resulting in the dislocated shoulder." Jake quickly cut in, feeling Lilly flinch into his chest. "Then I had most of the pack continue chasing the leech, I sent Seth to get Sue, and Jared, Em, and me went to get Brady."

Lilly took in a deep, shaky breath. "But, you're going to be okay?" she checked, looking over her shoulder at her cousin.

Brady gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Lil. Promise. And hey, look on the bright side. Sue said I don't have to go to school tomorrow!" he added cheerfully.

Sue rolled her eyes when she met Jake's before standing up. "I also recommend he stay off patrols tomorrow, but after that he should be fine to go back to his usual routine."

Jake nodded in agreement. "I'll make sure that happens. Thank you, Sue."

Sue smiled sadly at him. "You really don't have to thank me for stitching up a child. I'd be a horrible nurse, and an even worse person, if I didn't offer to help somehow."

"Either way, I appreciate it." Jake nodded, barely talking over Brady protesting that he was 'not a child'.

"Well, I'll be going then. Let me know if there's anything else I can do." Sue turned and left the room, leaving the door open a crack behind her.

"I need to have a meeting with the pack. You wanna stay up here with Brady?" Jake asked, leaning back to look down at Lilly, his hand on the back of her head.

Lilly nodded. Collin asked permission to stay, as well, so Jake agreed someone would fill them in on what they missed before heading downstairs.

As soon as he entered the kitchen all conversation stopped and everyone turned to stare at him expectantly. Jake took a deep breath.

"I assume Sue told you, but Brady should be fine the day after tomorrow. He's staying home from school tomorrow, and I'll run his patrol shift until he can get back on his feet. Collin and Lilly are with him right now. If any of you girls want to go check on him, you can. I'd like to have a pack meeting in the living room right now, though."

Everyone nodded and Kim moved into the kitchen to help Emily cook. The whole pack, minus Leah, Paul, Collin, and Brady entered the living room and took seats around the room. Jake stood in the center of the room, at the front of everyone.

"Okay,…obviously we're running out of options here." Jake started tiredly, "And I'm just as sick of chasing this bloodsucker as the rest of you are. So, I'm open to options."

The pack looked among themselves thoughtfully, everyone trying to think of something. Jared and Sam exchanged a look, both thinking the same thing. Jared sighed, turning back to Jake.

"I know you're not going to want to hear it, Jake, but as much as you want to deny it, we could actually use the Cullens help."

Jake growled lowly, glaring at the ground.

"Jake, he's got a point." Quil pointed out carefully. "No one's suggesting the Cullens get anywhere near Lilly. We hate the idea as much as you. But we could use the help, and they owe us."

The pack murmured among themselves, grudgingly admitting Quil and Jared had a point.

Jake sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Okay…okay fine. I'll call a meeting with Dr. Cullen later and we'll talk to them. Does that sound good to everyone?"

The pack all gradually nodded, looking about as agreeable as they could be at the thought of asking their enemies for help. Seth slowly raised his hand.

"I just have one question." When Jake nodded for him to continue he asked, "How are you going to tell Lilly?"

Everyone grimaced and Jake closed his eyes. This conversation would _not_ go well.


	19. Chapter 19

Lilly sat cuddled into Her Wolf's side on the couch, Jake's arm draped across her shoulders to hold her close as they watched a movie. She glanced up at him for what felt like the fortieth time. On the outside he seemed calm, but she could see a swirl of emotions in his dark eyes, giving away his nerves and unease.

Finally having enough, Lilly rested a hand on his chest. Jake's eyes moved down to her face, his expression still carefully blank.

"Jake, what's wrong?" she asked quietly.

Jake took a deep breath, his head falling back on the back of the couch and his eyes closing. It'd been a couple days since Brady was injured by the vampire and he was now back to school and on patrols. Jake was planning on calling a meeting with the Cullens…as soon as he told Lilly about that part of the plan.

"Jake?" Lilly shifted her knees under her a bit more so she sat higher and could see his face better.

Jake sighed in defeat and forced his eyes open to look at her. "There's something I need to tell you and I don't think you'll like it."

Lilly instantly tensed, subconsciously shifting away from him as he lifted his head from the couch. "What is it?" she demanded quietly.

Jake dropped his eyes to his lap as he spoke. "Sam brought up this plan a while back, since we're getting sick of this leech getting away all the time. And I refused, that's what caused the fight between me and Sam. But after Brady got hurt, we had a meeting and most of us were reconsidering Sam's plan. We don't want anyone else getting hurt by this guy."

Lilly could tell she wasn't going to like this plan by how Jake was avoiding saying it. "And what is this plan, Jacob?"

"Well,…one of the ways this leech has been escaping is by going over the Forks border…so we're going to call a meeting with the Cullens to ask for some help."

Lilly stayed completely still for a few moments as her mind processed those insane words falling from Her Wolf's lips. Then, she snapped.

"Absolutely not!" she shouted, standing up and backing away from the couch.

Jake stood and took a step after her, "Lilly-"

"Are you completely _insane?!_ " she yelled, "You want to ask _vampires_ for help getting rid of a vampire. Do you have any idea how stupid that sounds? What's to stop them from helping him?"

"You think I haven't thought about that?"

"No. No I don't. If you'd thought this through, _at all_ , you wouldn't be considering this." Lilly snapped, taking another step away from him.

"Lilly, I'm just trying to protect you." Jake explained in frustration, getting tired of being cut off every time he tried to talk.

"You want to protect me by bringing more vampires into the mix, when you know how terrified I am of them. I nearly had a panic attack when you made me ride on Edward's back before the battle, even though I knew he wasn't evil. And now you want to bring their whole coven into this mess?!"

Jake's skin crawled as he remembered his imprint's arms wrapped around the leech's neck, her body pressed to his back. "They're not going to be allowed on the reservation, Lilly. I wouldn't allow that. You won't be anywhere near them."

"Oh, and that makes it all better, doesn't it." she snapped sarcastically. "What if I say no? What if I don't want you to do this? Does that mean anything, Jacob?"

Jake eyed her for a moment before answering. "Honestly?…No. I didn't want to bring them in, but I can't watch more of my pack get hurt by this guy. Whether you support this decision or not, we're still going to have a meeting with the Cullens. We're still going to ask them for some kind of help."

Lilly struggled to swallow for a moment, his words hurting more than they should.

"Fine. You do that." she finally answered, rounding the couch to grab her backpack off the floor. "But I still stand by what I said. I refuse to support this decision." she continued as she slipped her shoes on.

"Where are you going?" Jake asked worriedly, his chest aching as he watched his imprint prepare to leave.

"Home." she answered as she opened the front door and slammed it closed behind her. She made the short walk to her house, opened the door and locked it behind her. The ripping pain in her chest made it hard to breathe as she went to her bedroom, locking her bedroom door behind her. She then made sure her bedroom window was locked before shutting the curtains. Then, she fell on her bed and pulled her pillow to her chest, letting her tears fall.

XXX

Lilly didn't leave her bedroom the whole evening. When her grandma came home and asked about dinner, Lilly told her she wasn't feeling well. Her Gran had nearly thrown a fit when she refused to unlock the door, but after a few minutes she seemed to realize there was more to it then what she knew. So, Abby left Lilly alone, telling her to get a good night's sleep.

Lilly didn't sleep. At all. She cried until her tears dried up and soaked her pillow, her head pounding and throat sore from her sobs. Her eyes burned and her nose was both stuffy and runny. Her chest was aching, but that wasn't from her cries. It was because of her argument with Jake causing a burning, tearing feeling in their imprint. It hurt to breathe. But she couldn't give in. She couldn't support the pack asking the Cullens for help, not because of her. Asking the enemy for help should never be an option. The pack might've fought alongside them against the newborns, but there were few options. In this situation, there are plenty of other options.

A light tapping sound brought Lilly's blankly-staring eyes toward her bedroom window. Her curtains were pulled shut for the first time in a long time, but she knew who was out there. A few seconds later, a muffled voice confirmed her suspicions.

"Lilly? Lilly, I know you're awake. Open the window." Just his voice made Lilly's heart stutter, but she wasn't sure if it was a good stutter or bad. "I can hear your heartbeat, Lilly. Please, just open the window so we can talk." Jake pleaded.

Lilly's eyes closed as pain lashed at her chest, a single tear slipping down her temple.

Jake continued knocking on her window and calling her for at least another hour before he finally seemed to give up. She could barely hear him sigh.

"Okay. I guess…I'll leave you alone. I'm sorry."

And just like that, Lilly's tears were no longer dried up. She cried herself to sleep that night.

XXX

The next morning, Lilly woke with a pounding headache and didn't get up when she heard her Gran leave for Sue's house. Luckily, it was a Sunday and she didn't need to get up and go anywhere. Emily would probably be expecting her, but Lilly didn't feel like going over there. Everyone would know something was up, and Jake might've phased and accidentally showed one of the guys.

Unfortunately, no one knew about Lilly's plan to avoid the pack.

Lilly eventually got up and wandered into the kitchen, wondering if this was what a hangover felt like. Dash followed her around as she grabbed a bowl of cereal and carried it into the living room to eat on the couch. She barely got four bites in when her front door slammed open and Leah Clearwater marched in.

Lilly eyed her warily as the tall, intimidating she-wolf approached her and sat on the armchair near her, staring her in the eye.

After several moments of tense silence, Leah finally spoke. "Okay, what's your problem?"

"I don't have a problem. You're the one barging into my living room." Lilly pointed out.

"I mean with Jake. The poor kid's been running laps since he left your house last night. That's about ten hours." Leah pointed out slowly. Lilly winced, her chest aching more.

"What do you want me to do, Leah? Just roll over and accept this? You can't honestly expect me to believe that you agree with this idea. I mean, asking the Cullens for help? It's…it's _ludicrous_. They're Cold Ones. Does no one realize how insane it is that he wants to ask vampires for help catching another vampire?"

"First of all, he doesn't _want_ to ask them for help. It's insulting that we have to even consider it. But Jake can't think with his ego anymore. He's got more to worry about than he's ever had before. He has to worry about his pack, his family, his Tribe,…and you. He can't think like an arrogant little kid anymore. He has to grow up and think like an Alpha, like a Chief, a leader.

"None of us want to ask the leeches for help. But we can't allow anyone else get hurt or…" Leah trailed off as she tried to think. She'd almost spilled about the murders the leech had been committing. Jake didn't want the imprints to know about that if he could help it. "Brady got really hurt. He jokes about it, and he came out perfectly fine, but we can't risk anyone else getting hurt, Lilly."

Lilly looked down at the bowl in her lap, not allowing herself to flinch as she remember her baby cousin lying in that bed with bloodstained sheets.

"Alright, forget all of that. Let me ask you this instead," Lilly turned and watched as Leah leaned closer to her, her elbows on her knees. "Put yourself in Jake's shoes for a moment. Say Jake was in danger, he was being hunted by something that he physically couldn't fight. What would be your limit for what you'd be willing to do?"

Lilly thought for a moment, unsure if she understood the question. "Limit? I wouldn't have one. I'd do anything to protect Jake if I could."

A small grin tugged at Leah's lips. "Exactly. And that's how Jake feels. He hates the Cullens, but he's willing to put aside his pride to get help so he can protect _you_. He's willing to do anything to protect you. Put yourself in his shoes, Lilly." Leah suggested gently, "He's already having a hard time with this decision. Do you really want to make this harder for him?"

Lilly's throat closed, her eyes burning with tears as she fully registered Leah's words. She was right. Jake was already struggling, doing something that went against everything he believed, just so he could protect her. And here she was making it harder for him, refusing to support him when all he wanted was to keep her safe.

"I have to talk to him." Lilly whispered, more to herself. She looked up in time to see Leah smile triumphantly. "Can you tell him to come here?"

"Actually,…no, not really. We finally convinced him to go to bed just a little bit ago. So, he's currently at his house, hopefully asleep in his room." Leah admitted.

Lilly nodded, standing up and moving to put her bowl in the kitchen sink. "I'm going over there, then. You…you don't think he'll be…mad, do you?" she asked hesitantly, pausing in the living room.

Leah gave her a look. "He's not mad, Lilly. He understands why you're upset, he just wishes you'd taken the time to listen to him. It's not like you'd be anywhere near them. Jake wouldn't allow that."

Lilly nodded before heading to her room. Dash once again followed her into her room, sitting on her bed while she changed into a zip up sweatshirt and sweatpants.

Leah walked her to the Black's house before turning and walking back, since her house was across the street from Lilly's. Lilly walked up the front porch steps before she paused. Normally, she didn't need to knock. Jake and Billy had told her time and time again that she was always welcome and didn't need to knock. Did that still apply now? She hurt Jake. Surely they would want her to at least knock, right?

Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, Lilly lifted her hand and knocked a few times on the front door. It was quiet for a few moments, but she could hear muffled voices and shuffling in the living room. Then, the door swung open to reveal Rachel Black.

Rachel's face was carefully blank as she looked Lilly over. Lilly licked her lips nervously, her arms crossed over her stomach.

"Um,…can I talk to Jake?" she asked hesitantly.

Rach narrowed her eyes for a moment. "You really hurt him, you know. I may not agree with their plan to get the Cullens involved, but I'll support them no matter what because I know they're running out of options."

Lilly shifted anxiously on her feet. "So,…can I see him? I need to apologize." she whispered.

"Yeah, you can talk to him, he'd murder me if I sent you away. And I really _do_ want you guys to work out. Obviously, I really like you and I think you're good for my brother. But if you hurt him again…" she trailed off warningly and Lilly gave her a sad smile. Rachel had threatened Jake not to hurt Lilly numerous times, but Lilly also knew how much she cared for her brother. The same basic threats stood for her, too. Rachel would kill her if she hurt Jake.

"Thanks, Rach." Lilly whispered as Rachel let her in. Lilly smiled nervously at Paul, who was sitting on the couch with his arm draped over the back. He gave her a reassuring smile in return.

Lilly passed through the living room and turned down the short hallway before stopping at Jake's bedroom door. She, again, wasn't sure if she should knock or just go inside. Finally, she gave a couple quiet raps against the wood door. After a few seconds of nothing, she quietly opened the door and peaked inside.

Jake was sprawled out on his stomach in his small bed, his sheet haphazardly draped from his waist to his legs, his feet sticking out from under the sheet. One arm was tucked under his pillow while the other rested on the bed next to him. But what caught Lilly's attention was his face. His thick brows were pulled low over his eyes and a small frown was tugging his lips down.

Lilly silently closed the door behind her and entered the room, slipping her shoes off and sitting on the ground next to his bed. She stared up at his face for a moment, just taking in every detail. The frown lines between his eyebrows, the bags under his eyes…

Lilly's hand lifted and she gently took hold of Jake's hand that was resting on the mattress next to him. She simply held it there, running her thumb over any skin she could reach. Without taking her eyes from his face, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to the skin of his wrist.

Jake's face relaxed, the stress slowly leaving his expression. A deep sigh lifted his bare back before he released it. Lilly fixed her eyes on his when she saw his eyelids flutter. He was still sleeping, but was on the verge of waking up. Shifting up onto her knees, Lilly held Jake's hand as she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

When she pulled back she saw the corner of his lip twitch up. Then, slowly, his eyelids lifted open to reveal his tired, dark brown eyes. Lilly bit her lip, sitting back on her knees as she stared back at him.

Jake blinked a couple more times, his eyes focusing on her. "Lilly?" he breathed, lifting his head a little when he realized he wasn't dreaming.

Lilly swallowed to stop her throat from closing. "I'm sorry." she whispered quietly, but Jake's ears heard it.

"Lilly," he started, only to be cut off.

"No, I'm really _so_ sorry, Jake." she insisted, tears blurring her vision. "I should've heard you out and let you explain. In the very least, I should've given you a chance. I know you'd never put me in danger. I'm sorry I hurt you."

Jake sighed, partially in relief. He shifted his hand in hers so he was gripping hers back. "I forgive you, Flower. And I'm sorry that it's come to this. I wish there was something I could do to protect you without asking the Cullens, but we're running out of ideas."

"I know. I understand that now. And I'll support you, no matter what happens. I promise." she whispered, leaning forward with her elbow on the side of the bed.

Jake rolled away onto his side and scooted back toward the wall, patting the mattress with his hand. Lilly smiled, standing up and crawling onto the bed under the sheet with him. Jake slung his arm over her waist and pulled her close, their faces inches apart.

"Can I explain a few things?" he asked quietly. Lilly nodded, her eyes fixed on his. "If they even agree to help us, the only thing I'd feel comfortable with is them allowing us to cross the border when we're chasing the leech. That's the main problem we're having, him crossing the border. He knows we can't cross. So we'd have the upper hand in the next chase because he'll slow down once he's across the border, he won't expect us to follow him.

"I might consider asking the Cullens to help us chase him when he's in Forks, but I want to be the one to destroy him. The others can catch him or slow him down, but I want to be the one to end him." Jake ended in a low mutter, his eyes tracing Lilly's face as he ran his thumb down her cheek. Lilly lifted her own hand to hold his against her cheek.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen." she whispered, closing her eyes.

"You're already forgiven, sweetie. I should've talked it out better." Jake's lips brushed Lilly's forehead, his nose tickling her hair.

"I hurt you." she whispered. Jake tensed for a moment before ducking his head and resting his forehead against hers.

"Lilly-"

"I'm sorry. It killed me when you were at my window. I hurt the both of us, and I'm sorry." she whimpered, keeping her eyes clenched shut to keep the tears from escaping. She didn't deserve to cry anymore. She was the one who caused all this pain.

"Hey, you're here now, right? It's fine." Jake assured her gently, both hands moving to cup her cheeks.

"I only came because Leah came over and pulled my head out of my ass." Lilly muttered angrily, her head ducked to hide her face.

Jake blinked in confusion. "Leah? What did Leah do?"

Lilly peaked up at him. "She came to my house this morning after I woke up. Well, I wouldn't say I woke up, 'cause sleep was rare and restless last night. Anyway, she basically explained your side a little better and where you're coming from with this decision. And then she told me to put myself in your shoes. That pretty much made my mind up. I'd do just about anything to protect you if the situation was reversed." Lilly admitted quietly, scooting closer and slipping her arm over his side to hold him close.

Jake nuzzled his nose into her hair. "I'm glad you don't have to. I'm the Protector, and I fully intend on protecting you no matter what."

A small smile tugged at Lilly's lips and she pressed a kiss to his bare chest right in front of her face. "Love you." she mumbled against his warm skin.

Jake grinned into her hair. "Love you, too." Then, he rolled onto his back, pulling her with him and draping her over his chest. Lilly snuggled into his side, closing her eyes and drifting off to Jake's fingers running through her hair and down her spine.

XXX

Jake left Lilly at Emily's house with the rest of the imprints as he lead his pack into the forest to phase. One by one, different voices popped into his head as he lead them at a jog toward Forks.

It'd been a few days since his and Lilly's argument, and in the time since Jake had called the Cullens and asked to have a meeting. So, that's where they were now heading.

 _'Did he say if the mind reader was going to be there?'_ Jared asked after a few moments, thinking of the phone call Jake had with the Doctor.

 _'He didn't mention it. If he's not there I'll phase back, but I want a couple of you to flank me to be on the safe side.'_ Jake answered unnecessarily. His pack wouldn't leave him defenseless whether he told them to or not. They'd always have his back.

The sickly sweet stench reached their noses a minute before they reached the border, where most of the Cullens were waiting for them. As Jared figured earlier, the only leech missing was the mind reader.

The doctor stepped forward so he stood just ahead of his family.

"Hello, Jacob." he nodded in greeting, "To what do we owe the pleasure of this meeting?"

Jake backed behind a tree to phase back, pulling his cutoffs on before stepping back out. He stood at the head of his pack, Embry and Quil flanking him in wolf form as his Beta and Third.

"We're having some vampire issues and we were hoping we could call in a favor." Jake answered.

Carlisle looked concerned. His mate, the female with caramel-colored hair, stepped forward to slip her hand into the crook of his arm. "What kind of problems?"

Jake gritted his teeth, glancing over his shoulder at his pack. He didn't like sharing personal information, especially about Lilly, with these vampires. Finally sucking it up, he turned back to them and began explaining.

"A…member of our pack has a past with this specific vampire…" he began slowly, "and said vampire recently started coming around again."

"How recent?" Carlisle asked seriously.

"About…three months ago." Jake answered thoughtfully.

"What kind of past are we talking about?" the scarred, blonde male asked in a Southern accent, his arm around the pixie's waist.

Jake breathed harshly through his nose, meeting the blonde's amber eyes. "The kind that involves him slaughtering a couple in their sleep a few years back. He would've killed their daughter, too, but she accidentally scared him off by starting a house fire." Jake allowed his eyes to sweep the Cullens before landing on the leader again.

"I hate that it's come to this, but we're here to ask for your help. Nothing as big as a battle or anything like that. This vampire knows we can't follow him into Forks, so he always heads that way when he runs out of options. He's not good at running away, like the redhead had been, he's good at avoiding getting in a tricky situation to begin with. And he started killing hikers and other humans a few weeks back and dragging them onto our land to send a message. What I'm asking is that you…modify the Treaty so that we can follow him the next time he crosses the border. We won't cross the Treaty line unless we're chasing him over there, and as soon as he's destroyed the Treaty will go back to normal."

"Why should we bother modifying the Treaty?" the snobby blonde female asked, "When Edward changes Bella the Treaty will be gone anyway, right? You'll have nothing stopping you from destroying us if we stick around. Why not just wait until we're gone?"

"Rosalie." Carlisle warned quietly before turning back to Jacob. "We'll help in anyway we can, Jacob, I promise. We do owe you after you helped us with the newborns."

"May I offer a…proposal of sorts?" the pixie asked, skipping forward a few steps.

Jake eyed her warily. "I suppose you can offer one, but don't be surprised if I decide to shoot it down."

"Well, you want us to modify the Treaty to fit your agenda," she started.

"Alice." Carlisle warned quietly, but she pressed on as if he hadn't spoken.

"Can we make a modification as well?" she asked sweetly.

Jake's eyes narrowed, his whole pack instantly on guard. "What kind of modification?"

"In regards to Bella." Alice answered.

Instantly, the whole pack was growling, the sound causing the ground to shake. Their fangs were bared and jaws were snapping.

"I think you got your answer." Jake growled, glaring at the tiny pixie. His glare caused the scarred blonde male to step forward and stand just a step ahead of the pixie, his muscles tense and ready for battle.

"But you haven't even heard what I have to say." she argued with a pout.

"Because if it has to do with Bella, I want nothing to do with it. As soon as she's bitten, the Treaty is broken and you all have to leave. That was the agreement made by your coven and the last pack, and that's how it's going to stay."

"You're expecting us to be reasonable, but you're pretty much demanding we do as you say." the big, burly male pointed out with his arms crossed.

Jake glared at him, silent for a few moments. "All I'm asking of you is that you allow us to cross your border the next time we're chasing that leech and he crosses the border. Unless of course you want the dead body of the next hiker he kills on your conscience."

The caramel-haired female looked worriedly up at her mate, while Carlisle looked thoughtful.

"Alright. You have our permission to do as you need in regards to catching this rogue, and if you ever need any assistance don't hesitate to call us."

Jake nodded curtly. "I hope we don't have to take you up on that, but if we do, I want to make one thing clear… _I_ will be the one to kill him. I don't care who knocks him down, I will be the one to rip his head off and light him up."

Carlisle nodded. "Understandable, of course. Is there anything else you'd like to discuss while we're here?"

Jake glanced back at his pack before turning back to them. "As much as I hate to bring this topic up, I should probably ask what your plans are with changing Bella."

"They've been traveling for their honeymoon the past several weeks and we plan on meeting up with them in Denali, Alaska in a couple weeks. We'll change Bella soon after and stay up there with our cousins until Bella has control over her thirst. After she's changed, I promise you we'll never return here."

Jake nodded once. "Good. If that's everything, we'll call this meeting to an end." Hearing no objection, Jake turned with his pack and walked back into the trees. A couple of the wolves watched the Cullens to ensure no sneak attack, mainly due to their instincts. Only when the stench faded from their noses did they fully turn and race back home to their imprints.


	20. Chapter 20

Lilly sighed, her eyes fixed on the lamp on Emily's end table in the living room. This was how desperate she was for something to do. She was considering sketching a lamp. To be fair, she'd already sketched every bit of nature scenery she could see from somewhere in Emily's house, as well as Jake's house. And she didn't have any homework left to do. She could always try and think of costume ideas for Halloween coming up. Emily and Rachel were thinking of having a Halloween party with the pack in a couple weeks, aka October 31.

Lilly sighed again, closing her sketchpad and heading into the kitchen, where Kim and Emily were.

"I'm so bored." she announced as she plopped into the seat next to Kim.

Emily smiled in amusement before placing a large bowl of what looked like the beginnings of brownie batter. "Here, mix this then." she suggested before opening the fridge and looking around inside.

Lilly did as suggested. She didn't spend as much time at Emily's as she would like, mostly because it was just as easy for her to stay at Jake's with Rachel and Becca. However, the twins weren't at home.

Rebecca was at work and Rachel was with Paul. Apparently, Paul had bought a rundown house a few blocks away and he was fixing it up. It'd be a little while before the house would be considered livable, but it was easy to see that it would look really nice once it's fixed up. Rachel had the day off work so she was at the house helping him fix something up. She wasn't moving in anytime soon, from the sound of it, but Paul had made it clear it was as much hers as it was his. Lilly had no doubt that even if Rach didn't live there officially for a while, she'd definitely have her own drawer in the bedroom and would be spending a lot of her spare time there.

Emily closed the fridge and scribbled a few things down on a notepad just as Jared, Seth, and Leah came in and headed for the cookies Emily had already made.

"Hey, I don't suppose one of you could go pick up some groceries for me?" Emily looked between the three wolves curiously.

Jared looked away innocently, casually pulling Kim onto his lap.

Lilly perked up. "I can do it!" she practically shouted, earning amused looks from the others. She just wanted to get out of this house! She was going stir crazy! She needed to see something beside the inside of Emily's or Jake's houses.

"I don't know, Lilly. You're not supposed to go out alone, especially since it's you." Emily answered doubtfully.

Leah sighed. "I'll go with her. Knowing this pack, your grocery list is probably so long it'll take two people anyway."

Lilly grinned hopefully up at Emily, clutching her hands together pleadingly. Emily eyed her for a moment before looking at Jared.

"Do you think Jake would kill me if I let Lilly get groceries with Leah?" she asked seriously.

Jared suppressed a laugh, knowing it was a semi-serious concern. "I think as long as Leah's with her it should be fine."

"We'll just try and stay away from the woods as best we can and I've got my phone on me if I need to get ahold of anyone." Leah assured, looking almost as anxious to get away as Lilly was.

"We'll be fine, Em. Please?" Lilly begged.

Emily sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine. Here's the list, and here's some money. Just be sure to bring back the change and the receipt, please." she said as she got some money out of a jar in the cabinet, handing it and the list to Lilly.

"Sure thing." Lilly agreed quickly before hurrying out of the house and toward Leah's car with the she-wolf in tow. Leah chuckled as they climbed in the car.

"Excited to get out?" she guessed.

"You have _no_ idea." Lilly answered earnestly, earning another laugh from Leah as she backed the car out of the driveway. They only drove for a couple minutes before they reached the small convenience store on the reservation.

They went inside and grabbed a cart, heading down the nearest isle to find a few of the items on the list. Leah crossed the isle near the corner of the shelf to grab a couple loaves of bread. Lilly's eyes were scanning the shelf in search of a few boxes of spaghetti, but she wasn't paying attention when her cart passed the end of the shelf and crashed into another cart.

Lilly jerked in shock at the loud crash, her mouth dropping open in shock. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry." she quickly apologized as she backed her cart away, allowing the other person to step forward.

"No, it was my fault, I wasn't paying attention." a man answered as he stepped around the corner, only to pause. It was Coach Hunter, Lilly's gym teacher, "Hey. Lilly, right? You're always surrounded by your tall guy friends in class." he grinned.

Lilly laughed sheepishly, tucking some hair behind her ear. "Yeah, that would be me." She glanced up as Leah came up beside her to put some things in the cart. "Um, this is my friend Leah. Leah, this is my gym teacher, Coach Hunter."

Leah looked up about six inches to meet the man's light blue eyes…and her world stopped.

Lilly looked between the two when she realized they both seemed frozen. Then she recognized the look on Leah's face. Leah imprinted!

After a few moments, Lilly subtly cleared her throat, causing the two to blink out of their trance. Coach Hunter gave Leah a charming smile, offering his hand to shake.

"It's nice to meet you. You can call me Kaden."

Leah returned the smile with one Lilly had never seen on her. It was a gentle, almost alluring smile as she shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, too. So, you're a gym teacher? I haven't seen you around before." she continued as they released hands.

"Yeah, I'm from Seattle, but I moved here after I graduated college and got a job offer at the La Push school. But I guess I've got some roots here, a grandparent or two were Quileute. I figured it'd be pretty cool to look into my ancestry a bit, too."

"Yeah, we Quileutes have some…interesting legends." Leah replied with a short laugh, tucking her hands in the back pockets of her jean shorts.

"So I've heard." Kaden chuckled in response. "Um, maybe we could meet for lunch or something sometime and you could tell me a bit more?" he asked casually.

Leah bit her lip to try and cover her smile, but eventually nodded her head. "Yeah, I'd like that." She cleared her throat, trying to make the girly attribute her voice had taken on go away. "Uh, maybe we could swap numbers and you could let me know what time works for you." she suggested, forcing herself to sound casual, and actually succeeding.

"Yeah, here, put your number in." he agreed, pulling his phone from his back pocket. The two exchanged phones and typed their numbers in quickly before swapping back. "Well, I'd better get going. I still have to try and come up with some kind of plan for my classes on Monday."

"You could always just have us play kickball." Lilly suggested casually, looking away as if it didn't matter to her.

Kaden smirked at her, raising one eyebrow. "You like that game, don't you?" he guessed.

Lilly simply smiled innocently, making the teacher chuckle.

"Anyway, it was nice meeting you Leah." he smiled at the young woman, earning one in response.

"You, too, Kaden." she answered before the man turned his cart and headed down the isle toward the cashiers. When he was gone, Leah leaned her forearms on the side of the cart, ducking her head low toward her hands.

"Soooo…he's nice, huh?" Lilly commented casually, smirking at the she-wolf.

Leah lifted her head to glare at the younger girl. "If you tell any of the guys how I reacted, I'll punch you."

"I think you handled it rather well." Lilly shrugged.

Leah's head fell into her hands. "I haven't gone on a date in…over two years. And even then, I haven't dated anyone besides Sam since I was fifteen. I just know I'm gonna screw this up." she muttered.

"No you won't. He's nothing like Sam, from what I've seen. Just be yourself. If you guys imprinted, he'll like you the way you are."

Leah sighed, lifting her head from her hands again. "We'll see." she muttered before standing up again. "Anyway, lets finish getting these groceries so we can get outta here."

The two quickly got everything that was on the list and were heading back towards Emily's house about half an hour later. When they pulled into the driveway, Jake and Seth came out to help them carry the groceries inside.

Jake kissed Lilly on the lips as he took a couple bags from her. "How'd it go?" he asked as she turned back to the car to get one of the other bags. Leah was getting another one from the other side of the car, and the two made eye contact. Lilly shrugged at her, silently asking if she should say or not. Leah thought for a moment before she sighed and stood straight up with a bag, looking at Jake over the roof of her car.

"I imprinted." she announced quietly, so only they could hear.

Jake's mouth fell open and he stared at her in shock before looking down at Lilly for confirmation. Lilly nodded as she stood with her own bag.

"At the grocery store?" he checked, turning back to Leah.

She nodded.

"Who was it? Do we know him? It is a him, right?" Jake questioned quickly.

Leah glared at him after the last question. "Yes, Jacob, it's a guy. I don't swing that way, and you should damn well know that."

"And she didn't know him before today, but we know him." Lilly answered before the she-wolf could castrate her boyfriend.

"Really? Who is it, then?"

Leah chewed her lip for a moment before saying, "Kaden Hunter, your guys' gym teacher."

Jake's mouth fell open for the second time in the last minute. "Seriously? Isn't he a bit old for you?"

Leah shot him an incredulous look. "I'm 20, going on 21. And Kaden can't be any older than 26 or 27. That's not that big of an age gap when you're out of your teens."

A light bulb went off in Lilly's head and her face lit up. "Hey, maybe you'll actually have a bigger age gap with your imprint than Embry and Becca, so Becca can't complain about that part. I mean, there's gotta be at least a four year age gap between you two, maybe more."

Leah rolled her eyes but a small smirk tugged at her lips. "Whatever. Anyway, can we drop it? I don't want everyone to make a big deal about it right off the bat. Can we at least keep it between us for a couple days so I can maybe get to know the guy first?"

"Sure." Jake shrugged. "No offense, but I have bigger things to think about when I'm phased. Like killer leeches and stuff."

Leah snorted and the three carried the rest of the groceries inside.

 **XXX**

 **Congratulations to those who guessed Leah would imprint on Kaden! Let me know what you all thought of this chapter, even though it was uneventful.**


	21. Chapter 21

A knock on the door urged Lilly to quickly put her last shoe on before hurrying to open the front door. Leah, Rebecca, and Rachel were waiting on her front step.

Leah looked her over with a smirk. "Red Riding Hood. Nice." she commented on Lilly's Halloween costume. They were headed over to Sam and Emily's for a Halloween party. Lilly had thrown together a simple Little Red Riding Hood costume with a red hooded cape over a loose, gray blouse, black leggings, and black shoes.

"Thanks." Lilly grinned as she stepped outside and closed the door behind her. "And you're…Princess Leia? From _Star Wars_?" she guessed. Leah was wearing a loose white dress of sorts with baggy sleeves and a belt around her waist. And her short hair had somehow been made into two buns on the sides of her head. Lilly guessed she had hair extensions in.

Leah rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me. Seth wanted to dress as Luke Skywalker and he talked me into this, since we're _brother and sister_." she mocked in a baby voice that suggested she was mocking her brother.

"Just don't go kissing him or anything like Luke and Leia did in the movie. I think Kaden might get jealous." Rachel teased. Leah punched her in the shoulder in response.

Leah and Kaden had met for lunch a few times in the two weeks since Leah imprinted on him, and they seemed to have a lot in common. Of course, Leah's secret imprint hadn't stayed quiet for long. Jake accidentally slipped up the next day on patrol, so Quil found out. Leah told Rachel and Rebecca, and Paul accidentally overheard. Paul blabbed to Jared and Sam, who naturally told their imprints. Before three days had passed, the whole pack knew. Sam hadn't been sure how to feel about it, but he seemed to accept it.

So far, only those still in school, as well as Rachel and Rebecca, had met Kaden so far. Rachel and Rebecca had happened upon them at lunch when they'd gone out to eat. And when everyone found out Leah had, hesitantly, invited him to Emily's Halloween Party, they all got excited.

"We still don't even know if he'll come, okay." Leah pointed out.

"Of course he will! You're a hot, tall, Native woman with perfect skin and hair! He'd be crazy to pass you up." Rachel argued. The twins were both wearing red V-neck T-shirts and blue shorts. On the Rachel's T-shirt was black writing in a white circle saying 'Thing 1'. Rebecca's said 'Thing 2'. They'd explained to Lilly a few days before that they used to try and come up with twin Halloween costumes when they were little, mostly a thing their mother had started when they were toddlers. Costumes like salt and pepper shakers, Peter Pan and Tinkerbelle, Mario and Luigi, Pooh and Tigger, and Peanut butter and Jelly. Obviously they stopped doing it around the time they turned 17 and hadn't spent a Halloween with each other since they moved. So, they wanted to do it again.

They quickly made the walk to Sam and Emily's house and walked through the front door. The kitchen was completely filled with all kinds of Halloween themed foods, both finger foods and actual meals. Foods that looked like fingers, ghosts, pumpkins, caramel apples, candy snacks. And punch that looked like blood with things floating in it. It all looked both disturbing and delicious.

"Holy crap, Emily. We could've helped you set this all up, you know." Rebecca commented as they stared around the room in shock.

"Oh, it wasn't all that hard. Most of this stuff I made the day before." Emily waved their concern off as she entered the kitchen from the stairs. She was wearing a red, long sleeved shirt with the Prego spaghetti sauce logo on her chest and what looked like cutout mushroom and green shapes stuck to her shirt. She was also wearing black leggings. The tighter shirt also accentuated her small baby bump, as she was almost 3 months.

"Prego. Funny." Rachel noted with a smile. Emily shrugged with a smile of her own before telling them to go into the living room, where most of the others were hanging out.

Jared and Kim were talking with Sam. Jared was wearing a dirty, white wife beater and dark jeans, and it looked like he did something with his hair. Lilly guessed he was Wolverine from _X-Men_. Kim was obviously Belle from _Beauty and the Beast_ , wearing a blue dress over a white shirt and a white apron, and clutching a book to her chest. Sam didn't look any different, though. He was just wearing his usual cutoffs and he was barefoot.

Rachel and Rebecca immediately headed toward where Paul was laughing at Quil, and Lilly decided to follow them since Jake didn't seem to have arrived yet. Paul was dressed the same as Sam, in his usual cutoffs, and Quil was dressed exactly the same…except his skin was completely green. That would explain why Paul was laughing so hard.

Rachel and Rebecca covered the mouths, trying not to laugh as Quil raised his chin with a smug smile.

"Gee, I wonder who you could possibly be." Lilly commented sarcastically.

"Quil, you do realize there're Hulk costumes out there so you don't have to paint your skin green." Rebecca pointed out gently.

Quil's smile dropped. "Oh…they do?"

Paul burst out laughing again, and even the girls couldn't keep back their laughter.

"I warned him, but he wouldn't listen." Embry answered as he entered the room just as a pair of arms wrapped around Lilly's waist from behind.

"I thought that was you." a voice whispered in her ear.

"How could you tell? I've got this hood on." Lilly teased with a smile as she looked at Jacob from the corner of her eye.

"I just know you." Jake grinned before kissing her cheek and pulling away. Lilly turned and looked the pair over. Jake was wearing a gray T-shirt that looked like the front of Batman's costume, jeans, and a black cape tied around his neck. Embry was wearing black glasses, dress pants, and a white dress shirt that had the top few buttons undone to allow a blue shirt with the Superman logo to peak out.

"Batman and Superman. Does that mean we'll get to see a brawl?" Rachel asked teasingly.

Jake smirked and met Embry's eyes. "Maybe. We'll see how tonight goes." Embry rolled his eyes good-naturedly in response, lightly punching Jake's shoulder.

"You look like such a dork." Paul smirked at Embry, wrapping his arm around Rachel's waist.

Embry glared at him but before he could retort, Rebecca spoke up. "He does not. I think he looks very attractive. And about 80% of women find men in glasses sexier." she stated before going into the kitchen. The others turned to look at Embry, seeing a light red undertone in his cheeks as he scratched the back of his head.

"Anyway, what are you supposed to be, Paul?" Lilly asked, steering the attention away from Embry.

Paul smirked. "Same thing as Sam. A Protector."

Rachel rolled her eyes while Embry, Quil, and Jake snorted.

"What, think you're too cool to dress up for Halloween?" Jake mocked.

"And before you answer, keep in mind your girlfriend dressed up and is standing right next to you." Quil pointed out with a smirk.

Paul turned and looked Rachel over with a smirk, taking in the tight T-shirt and short-shorts. After a few moments he shrugged and turned back to the others. "Hey, if she wants to dress up, I'm not complaining."

Rachel's mouth fell open and Jake glared at Paul before punching his shoulder.

"You better not start getting kinky with my sister." he snarled. Rachel groaned and buried her face in her hands.

"Hey, Lilly! Check it out!" Lilly turned to see Seth bounding toward her in a Luke Skywalker costume, dragging a scowling Leah behind him. When they were standing in front of Lilly, Seth released his sister's arm and pulled a toy light saber from his pocket and waved it around like a Jedi. "It's awesome, right?"

Lilly smiled widely, trying not to laugh. "Yeah, it is." She could hear the other guys trying not to laugh, so when an idea popped into her head she went with it. "Way cooler than just any old superhero, right Rach?" She looked at Rachel over her shoulder, who got the hint.

"Oh, yeah. I mean, Jedi's can move things with their minds. Way cooler than regular, everyday superheroes like, say, Superman or Hulk."

"Or Batman." Lilly added.

Seth grinned triumphantly at the guys over Lilly's shoulder. "See? It's not lame!" he announced before hurrying off to talk to some of the others.

Leah rolled her eyes at Rachel as she was dragged away yet again. Rachel and Lilly grinned at one another before turning back to the guys, who were staring at them with unimpressed expressions.

"So, you think Luke Skywalker's cooler than Batman?" Jake asked Lilly with one eyebrow raised. "You do realized he was into incest, right?"

"Oh, please." Lilly rolled her eyes, "He didn't know she was sister when it happened, and all they did was kiss. Why does everyone cling to that?"

"'Cause it's gross." Embry pointed out.

"Yeah, that'd be like me and Rachel." Jake pointed out with a disgusted expression, which Rachel quickly mirrored.

"Jake, gross!"

"Well, technically it'd be more like Rebecca and Rachel, 'cause Luke and Leia were twins, right?" Quil pointed out.

Most everyone adopted disgusted expressions as they turned to Quil, except Paul. He looked Rachel over again and simply made a thoughtful 'Hm' sound.

Rachel's head quickly snapped up to glare at him. "Don't you dare get any ideas, you sicko." She smacked his chest loudly.

Paul laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. "Relax, I was just kidding. As hot as your sister is, I very strongly prefer you."

Embry and Jake glared at Paul.

Lilly rolled her eyes. "On that lovely note, I'm going into the kitchen to see if there's anything that looks scarily delicious." she announced, turning to leave the room. Just as she reached the kitchen doorway, however, a hand gently grabbed her arm and pulled her down the hallway and pinned her to the wall.

Lilly looked up at Jake with wide eyes as he towered over her. "Um, may I help you?"

Jake raised one eyebrow at her. "You seriously think Luke Skywalker is cooler than Batman? I mean, _Batman_. As in _'I'm Batman'._ " he quoted in a surprisingly good Batman impression with the deep, raspy voice.

Lilly snorted, quickly lifting a hand to cover her mouth. "Wow. That-that was actually pretty good. You should consider going into acting."

Jake glared playfully down at her, a grin tugging at the corner of his lips. "Whatever. Just keep one thing in mind." He lowered his head so his lips were at Lilly's ear. "You're mine." He playfully nipped her neck, making Lilly's breath hitch and her hands fly to his chest. But she didn't push him away, she ran her hands down his chest to his stomach, the thin material of his T-shirt doing little to hide the firm muscles underneath. Jake groaned and quickly moved his lips to Lilly's in a firm kiss while his hands went to her waist to hold her to the wall. After a few moments, Jake moved his lips from Lilly's, across her cheek and jaw, back to her neck.

"When Embry and I decided to be Batman and Superman, I figured he'd be my competition. Didn't think I'd have to compete with a Jedi, too."

Lilly's breathing was ragged as she let her head rest against the wall. "Don't tell me you're…jealous of Seth." she panted.

Jake growled, nipping once more at Lilly's neck. "I don't need to be jealous of the pup. Because you're mine, right? I'm Your Wolf, and you're My Flower." he breathed against her neck.

Lilly chuckled lightly. "Wow. Even mid-make out you can be romantic. And cheesy."

Jake chuckled, too, pulling back and kissing her cheek. "And you love it."

"Yep." Lilly smiled, leaning back against the wall and running her hand up through the hair at the nape of Jake's neck.

Jake gently brushed her hair back and pulled her hood back over her head, since their earlier activities had knocked it off her head. "We'd better head back out there. I'm not sure how much control I've got left." he grinned wryly before pulling away and ushering her out of the hallway.

Jake quickly returned to hanging out with the guys while Lilly moved into the kitchen to hang out with Rebecca and Emily. They snacked on Emily's many treats until there was a knock on the door at almost 7.

Before Emily could move to answer, Leah sped past her and reached the door. She took in a deep breath before casually opening the door to reveal Kaden wearing a white long-sleeve, a dark vest, dark jeans, and a belt.

Leah smiled at him. "Hey, come on in." she stepped back and waved him in.

"Thanks." he smiled at her before looking her costume over. "You're-"

"Hi." Seth came in the room and stood next to Leah. He looked like he was trying to be intimidating, but he was just too adorable to be scary, at least in Lilly's opinion. Then, Seth's eyes widened. "Are you dressed as Han Solo from _Star Wars_?"

Lilly and Rebecca covered their mouths while Leah's cheeks darkened.

"Aw, isn't that just adorable?" Rachel teased as she entered the room. "We've got Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo."

Leah glared at Rachel while Kaden chuckled. "Um, yeah that was completely accidental." he explained.

"Which makes it even more adorable." Rebecca added.

"Okay, you two can shut up, now." Leah announced loudly before leading Kaden out of the kitchen toward the living room, while Seth followed like an excited puppy.

"Well, that was adorable." Lilly stated, earning laughter and nods of agreement from around the room.

The rest of the night was full of fun and relaxation. The pack seemed to actually like Kaden. It was a bit tense with Sam at first, but by the end of the night the former Alpha couldn't seem to find fault with Leah's imprint. And Kaden seemed to have at least something in common with most of the guys.

Embry and Seth left just before 8 to run their patrol and relieve Collin and Brady, who came in soon after. Collin was dressed as a Leonardo the Ninja Turtle and Brady was dressed as Jack Sparrow from _Pirates of the Caribbean_.

Soon, 10:00 came and went and Sam politely kicked everyone out of his house with the argument that Emily needed to sleep. Jake, Lilly, Embry, Rebecca, Rachel, and Paul all walked home together, since most of them were heading in the same direction. Jake walked with Lilly perched on his back, her arms hanging loosely around his neck.

"That was actually a lot of fun." Rachel stated as they walked, Paul's arm draped over her shoulders to keep her warm in the cool air. "We should do stuff like this more often."

"Maybe we should have one last bonfire before it gets too cold." Lilly suggested. "We haven't had one in a while."

Jake nodded thoughtfully. "Not a bad idea. I'll mention it to dad tomorrow."

"Yeah, we didn't get to have our usual back-to-school bonfire with everything going on." Embry pointed out, "Hey, our next bonfire would also be Rach and Becca's first bonfire knowing everything." he realized, looking at the twins.

Their eyes lit up with excitement. "Wow, I didn't even think of that. Will it feel weird, hearing it and knowing it's all true?" Rachel asked curiously, turning to look up at Lilly.

Lilly smiled thoughtfully as she remembered her last bonfire, the first one she'd been to since finding out the legends were real. "It's even more amazing hearing the legends and just picturing it all happening right before your eyes. Just knowing they all really happened."

Rachel and Rebecca nodded with smiles.

"And the people currently surrounding you turn into giant wolves." Paul added with a smirk, earning chuckles from Jake and Embry.

The group soon reached Lilly's house, and most of the group waited at the end of the sidewalk while Jake took Lilly up to her door. She slid off his back only when they were standing right in front of her door.

"So, you had a good time tonight?" Jake checked.

"As if you have to ask." Lilly retorted with a smile.

"Same here." Jake grinned, linking their hands together between them. "Though, I almost wish I dressed as the Big Bad Wolf." he joked, moving a bit closer to her so they were mere inches apart.

Lilly scoffed. "Please, you may be big, but you're not exactly bad. You're a giant puppy."

Jake leaned down so his face was right in front of hers, his warm breath brushing over hers. "Only when I'm with you." he whispered, his lips almost touching hers. Lilly tilted her head up and softly brushed her lips to his.

"Just kiss her and lets go, Jake!" Rachel's voice broke the pair apart, making them turned and glare down the sidewalk toward them. "It's starting to rain again and I want to get home!"

Lilly laughed, shaking her head while Jake waved a rather rude hand gesture at his sister. Leaning up on her toes, Lilly grabbed the back of Jake's head with one hand and pulled him down for one short, firm kiss, which he returned eagerly. Then, she pulled away and gave his shoulder a push.

"There, now go before your sister throws a tantrum." Lilly ordered, opening her front door as she spoke.

"Sure, sure." Jake grinned, "Love you."

"Love you, too. Have a good night." Lilly stepped inside and waved once more to the others before closing the door.

 **XXX**

 **Hope everyone liked this chapter, since it was more of a filler than anything. Also, to quickly answer a couple questions I've been asked, no there won't be a Nessie in this story. And I think there'll be just short of 30 chapters in this story, so we're surprisingly nearing the end even though it doesn't feel like it. I'm actually kind of surprised myself to be honest.**


	22. Chapter 22

Lilly kicked the soccer ball at a run, spraying a bit of damp sand as she swerved around Collin. She laughed and passed the ball to Seth, who managed to score the ball in their makeshift goal past Brady. Their team made up of herself, Seth, and Embry all cheered.

"Food!" Emily called from where there was a large table set up with food and plates near the roaring bonfire.

The guys all bolted down the beach, and Lilly made to follow them when an arm scooped her up and slung her over a shoulder. She laughed and pounded her fists on Jacob's back.

"Nice pass back there." She could literally hear the grin in Jake's voice as he walked them down the beach.

"Jealous I beat your team?" she teased, looking down and subtly watching his butt as he walked.

Jake snorted. "Please. You guys only beat us 'cause I told Collin and Brady to take it easy on you. Wouldn't want my girl getting trampled in a dog pile."

"More like a wolf pile." Lilly muttered with a small smirk.

"Now _that_ was a pathetic joke." Jake commented, placing her on her feet when they reached the table.

The girls and Elders went through the line and got their food before the pack did, and Lilly took a seat on one of the logs surrounding the fire.

Conversations around the bonfire were casual and lighthearted, and Lilly couldn't help but watch everyone for a moment.

Billy and Old Quil were talking about fishing. Sue and Lilly's grandma, Abby, were talking with Leah, and judging by Leah's smile it was about Kaden. Leah hadn't invited Kaden because she wanted to get to know him better before she brought him to a bonfire. Collin, Brady, and Seth were laughing and stealing each other's food. Emily and Kim were talking with Rachel, Kim sitting on Jared's lap. And Jared was talking with Paul, who was sitting in the sand at Rachel's feet. Rebecca was sitting between her twin and Embry, having a conversation with the wolf.

Lilly smiled as she watched the pair interact. While their expressions and interactions didn't scream 'romance', they had definitely been getting closer over the last few weeks. Lilly had also noticed Embry would sometimes say something or compliment Rebecca, not to flatter her or gain anything, simply stating an opinion. At first Rebecca would make a face like she was simply accepting the compliment, but she didn't completely believe it. Lately, however, she would give him a genuine smile, as if she was starting to believe him.

Everyone finished eating around 8:00 and Jared and Leah left the warmth of the fire to head into the forest for their patrol. Sam and Quil returned to the fire in their place, grabbing the plates Emily had been sure to save for them before taking their seats. As they ate, Billy called for silence and began telling the legends.

As usual, Lilly was completely in awe listening to the legends. When she glanced over at Rach and Becca, she could tell they were just as amazed knowing the people around them were a part of the stories they grew up believing were fiction.

When Billy got to the Third Wife story, Lilly couldn't help reaching over and taking Jake's hand in hers, holding it atop his leg. Jake turned and kissed her temple before leaning his head on hers, his eyes fixed on his dad.

The bonfire went well into the night, and Lilly wasn't the only one whose eyes were starting to droop. Billy finished the legends after 10:00 and the pack worked together to clean up the dishes and tables and put out the fire.

Since Abby was getting a ride home with Sue and Seth, Jake scooped Lilly up after they finished cleaning and carried her to his Rabbit. She dozed off on the ride, but Jake was more than happy to carry her inside and lay her down in her bed. She mumbled quietly as he pulled her covers up to her chin.

"Mm…Jake…love wolf…"

Jake smiled fondly down at her, brushing her hair from her face. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Love you, too. Sweet dreams." he whispered before backing out of the room and going home.

XXX

Lilly scratched behind Dash's ear as she read the chapter book her English teacher assigned. Kim was on the other side of the couch doing her own homework, her free hand petting Dash's back.

Lilly's eyes flickered back to her backdoor. Jake, Embry, and Quil had been doing homework with them when a howl called them out. That was about half an hour ago and Lilly couldn't for the life of her focus on her work.

When her hand was suddenly higher than it was supposed to be, Lilly looked down and realized Dash had lifted his head from her lap. He was staring at the backdoor much like Lilly had been, his floppy ears perked up and his little body tense. Lilly was shocked when she heard a quiet growl rumble in his throat.

A sudden yap made both Lilly and Kim jump before Dash launched himself over Lilly's lap to the arm of the couch, and then across the room. He slid to a stop at the door, his nose pressed to the crack between the door and the doorframe, the white and brown fur on his back standing up. He was snuffling rather loudly, too.

Lilly looked back at Kim, who looked as confused as she did.

"Does he do that often?" Kim asked.

Lilly shook her head. "No. I've never seen him do that before." She looked back over at where her dog was growling at the door before slowly standing up and placing her book on the arm of the couch. She slowly crossed the room, feeling as if it took her an hour instead of a few seconds.

When she was behind Dash, she gently nudged him away from the door with her foot. She gave him the familiar hand signals to sit and stay, and he did as commanded, though his little body was trembling and his eyes stayed glued to the door.

Lilly's own eyes moved to the doorknob. Taking a deep breath, she reached out and slowly gripped the cool brass handle in her hand. Turning it, she finally yanked the door open.

There was no one there, but when her eyes lowered they landed…on the dead body of a woman, her throat torn out, brown hair spread out, and green eyes glassy.

Lilly screamed in shocked horror before someone slammed into her and shoved her back into the house. There was another scream and several deep voices talking and shouting over each other and Dash's barking. The only things that kept Lilly from panicking was the scorching heat that surrounded her and the multiple growls filling the room.

A set of arms wrapped around her and held her to a bare chest, but it did little to erase the image from her mind. All she could see was the blood, the mangled flesh, and the woman's dead eyes.

A set of soft lips brushed her ear, a familiar, yet shaky, voice shushing her as a hand ran through her hair and down her back

"You're okay. You're okay, sweetie. I'm here." Jake's voice kept whispering in her ear, his voice trembling in fear as he cradled her body to his chest. Lilly clenched her eyes shut and buried her face in Jake's chest, lifting her arms to wrap them around his back.

Jake closed his eyes, trying to calm both himself and his wolf as he buried his face in Lilly's hair, breathing in her cinnamon and green apple scent. His whole body was trembling with fear, and he could feel Lilly's small body shaking even more in his arms.

He had no idea how the leech got past them and that close to Lilly. Just the thought of how close he came to her made his wolf snarl with a panicked rage. He'd been in Lilly's house with Embry, Quil, Lilly, and Kim when Jared's howl called the pack out. He'd found a fresh trail of the leech's scent across the reservation. Most of the pack were sniffing around that area trying to find where he went when Seth had starting yelling that he could smell the leech near him, near the houses.

So, the pack had bolted back across the reservation toward where most of the houses were. Soon, they'd found an even fresher trail left by the leech, along with the scent of a dead body, heading straight for Lilly's house. By the time they reached the woods behind Lilly's house, the leech was leaving her yard. Jake had been so panicked, his mind only on getting to his imprint, that he had been unable to tell his pack what to do. Luckily, they didn't need to be told what to do. Most of the pack had instantly changed course to chase the leech down while a few of the others had followed Jake in phasing out and rushing to the house. He'd barely spared the corpse on her back steps a glance as he bolted into the house, pushing her back inside to ensure her safety.

"Jake."

Jake blinked his eyes open and turned his head just enough to meet Quil's eyes, his mouth and nose not leaving Lilly's hair. A quick glance around the room showed Brady standing at Quil's side, Jared holding Kim to his chest, and Dash scurrying around the room. Apart from them, the room was empty.

"Everyone else is chasing the leech. You want me to get rid of the, uh…body?" Quil asked quietly.

Jake closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he lifted his hand to the back of Lilly's head, gently pressing her face into his chest as he whispered to Quil, "Yeah, that'd be great, Quil. Thanks."

Quil gave him an understanding smile, his eyes flicking worriedly to Lilly before he backed out of the house.

Jake stood there for a few more moments, simply holding Lilly close to his chest, before he gently lead her toward the couch and sat down, pulling her onto his lap so he could keep her as close as possible. Brady slowly sat on the couch next to him, his eyes worriedly scanning his cousin's body even though they all knew the leech didn't actually touch her.

Eventually, Lilly managed to calm down enough to think past the fog of panic. "He was here?" she whispered, knowing the wolves would hear her.

Jake growled, nestling his face in her neck, under her jaw. "I'm sorry, Flower. I don't know how he got past us, but he did, and I'm so sorry."

"The," Lilly closed her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat before continuing, "The woman. Did he…"

Jake sighed, finally pulling his face away and leaning back into the couch, gently pulling Lilly down to lean her shoulder against his chest. She kept her worried eyes fixed on his face. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure he killed her and dumped her body at your backdoor. Lilly,…it's not the first time he's done something like that. For the past couple months he's been killing people and then dumping the bodies on our territory. When we find them they all have their blood drained and throats torn out. I'm sorry, I probably should've told you, but we didn't want you, or the other imprints, getting scared."

Lilly clenched her eyes shut, her arms wrapping around herself. On the one hand, she was angry Jake wouldn't tell her something so important. On the other hand, she really wished she didn't know now.

She felt fingers brush her hair behind her ear, soft lips brushing her cheek near the corner of her lips. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I just wanted to protect you." Jake whispered brokenly.

With that, any anger she felt about him keep the murders a secret left Lilly's body in a _whoosh_ , leaving her sagging against his chest and pressing her face into his neck.

"Where is he now?" she whispered against his neck.

"We got here just as he was fleeing your yard. Most of the pack chased him down, but a few of us ran straight in here to check on you and Kim. I don't know if they caught him or not." Jake didn't say it out loud, but he had a feeling they didn't catch him. The leech was just too good at getting away.

Lilly chewed her lip worriedly for a few moments before speaking. "If he was so close, why did he run? He was here, he had the perfect chance…"

Jake growled, his arms constricting carefully around Lilly's small body. He really didn't want to think about how close the leech got, even though Lilly had a point. "He was probably just sending us a message." Jake muttered into Lilly's hair. 'Which we got loud and clear,' he thought to himself.

They sat quietly in the living room for a few minutes, Jared and Kim sitting in the armchair nearby. Their comfortable silence was broken when Embry calmly entered through the backdoor, making everyone in the room turn to him.

Jake didn't even have time to go into Alpha mode, because Embry was already in Beta mode. "He got away. I left Sam and Collin on patrol, and Paul and Leah went to check on Rachel and Rebecca, Seth's heading to Emily's, and Quil's almost done with the, uh, body." he finished with a worried glance at Lilly.

Jake nodded. "Thanks." he said, pulling Lilly closer to him.

Eventually, everyone else left. Jared took Kim home, Brady went to Emily's for some food, and Embry went to the diner Rebecca worked at to drive her home after her shift; leaving Jake and Lilly alone in her quiet living room.

Jake held her on his lap, running his fingers through her hair and down her spine in a soothing rhythm that eventually caused her to doze off against his chest. As his eyes scanned her face, he started to take notice of things he should've noticed before. Even though she'd been sleeping better and the leech hadn't caused any recent problems, to her knowledge, she still looked stressed. Her skin was a few shades paler than normal, there were purple bags under her eyes, and when his fingers made their passes down her back he could feel at least a few knots in her muscles.

Thoughts swirled around in Jake's head. He wanted to do something to take Lilly's mind off everything. He knew their camping trip before school started had done her a lot of good, maybe he should do something like that again. And Winter Break was coming up in a couple weeks, that could be the perfect opportunity since they'd be out of school.

Jake smiled as multiple ideas popped up in his head before he turned and laid back on the couch, pulling Lilly with him. He held her close in his arms and allowed himself to drift off in a short nap with his imprint held close.


	23. Chapter 23

Lilly stretched her arms over her head before letting them fall back to her sides as she walked out of the school's front doors. Jake walked alongside her and dropped his arm over her shoulders while he had some conversation with Embry and Quil that she didn't bother listening in on.

It was Friday, December 22nd. It had been a half day at school before their Winter Break started, and Lilly was looking forward to getting a break from school work, especially if it meant the pack had a little less work to do.

They approached the pack's cars in the parking lot and Lilly stopped next to the front passenger door of Jake's red Rabbit. She waited patiently while Jake had a rather serious-looking conversation with the other wolves surrounding him. Finally, Embry practically shouted something along the lines of, "We get it. We'll be fine, just go already."

Jake turned and approached the car while the rest of the school-aged pack members waved excitedly at Lilly, yelling 'Bye' or 'Have fun'.

Lilly waved back, a bit confused and worried before climbing in the car.

"So, what was that all about?" she asked suspiciously as Jake started the car and backed out of the lot.

Jake rolled his eyes but couldn't stop grinning. "Nothing. They're just idiots."

"Well, I knew that." Lilly joked, earning a laugh from Jake. "But seriously, what's going on?"

Jake glanced over at her before his eyes went back to the road, the smile not leaving his face. She hadn't seen him so at ease, and even excited, since before the vampire dumped that body on Lilly's doorstep. "Well, you remember how we had that camping trip at the end of summer to take your mind off everything?"

"Yeah."

"And did you have fun doing that?"

"Well, obviously. But, it's a bit chilly to go camping, Jake. I mean, it wouldn't be nearly as cold as it was up in the mountains, but we didn't really have a say in that matter." Lilly explained, noting the small flurries of snowflakes that was currently falling, melting as soon as they touched the windshield. They certainly wouldn't stick, but the temperature was still a bit chilly.

"I know, we're not going camping, at least not in a tent." Jake grinned.

"Wait, we're actually going camping?" Lilly asked in shock.

"Well,…not exactly. But we are going on a trip for a few days, just the two of us. We'll be in an old cabin several miles away from home. Far enough that we can have some privacy, but close enough that I can check in with the pack."

Lilly nodded slowly, her brain taking its time in registering this information. "Ooookaaay,…and am I going to survive on one outfit?" she asked, looking down at her sweater and jeans.

"Look in the backseat." Jake suggested.

Lilly did as she was told, turning just enough to look over her seat and in the back. Sitting there on the seat were two duffle bags and a cooler. One of the duffle bags was Lilly's.

"You packed my bag for me?" she asked uncertainly, her mind flying to her underwear drawer.

"No. Kim and Rachel did. I told them to pack the necessities, but I did hear them laughing in a mildly scary way, so whatever they did, don't kill me for it. Also, Emily packed us enough food to last us until Sunday morning, which is when we'll head home. Sam dropped the cooler off in the car just before we got out of school."

Lilly nodded slowly, trying not to be terrified of what Kim and Rachel packed for her. Sunday was Christmas Eve. "Does my Gran know about this little trip?"

"Actually, yes. She helped me plan it and is completely okay with it as long as she actually gets a little bit of alone time with you on Christmas." Jake answered.

Lilly nodded, a smile spreading over her lips as she relaxed into her seat. "Okay. I can't wait."

Jake looked over at her with his usual smile, reaching one hand over to hold hers as he drove.

XXX

They drove for about three hours before Jake decided the Rabbit wouldn't be able to make the rest of the trip, since they were going deep into some woods outside of the pack's territory. So, he parked the car in a small clearing and they got out of the car. Jake phased and carried the cooler in his jaws while Lilly sat on his back with the two duffel bags. He ran for another hour, not going anywhere near his full speed with Lilly on his back, before the small cabin finally came into his sight through the trees.

Jake slowed to a stop before carefully lowering himself to his belly so Lilly could slide off. She did so, letting the bags fall to the ground as she fisted Jake's fur to keep herself steady. After being on Jake's back for an hour, she needed to let the blood rush back to her feet. When she felt steady again, she released Her Wolf's fur so he could step into the trees and phase back. Her curiosity almost sent her to check out the cabin on her own, since she could barely see it through the trees, but she decided it was smarter to wait for Jake to return.

When he did, he swung both bags into his shoulder and picked up the cooler before taking her hand in his free one and leading her through the trees.

The cabin was a simple, two-story log cabin with a stone chimney on one side and a small front porch. Jake glanced down at Lilly with a smile before leading her up the front steps and across the porch to the front door. Since his hands were full, Lilly turned the doorknob and pushed the front door open so they could step inside.

Like the outside, it was small and simple, and just a bit chilly. The first floor was open, the living room and kitchen merging easily with only a small kitchen island separating them. The living room had a large rug and a single couch in front of the fireplace. There was also a simple, wood staircase where each step simply looked like a small log had been cut in half. The second floor was open and she could see up there past the railing, it really looked more like a balcony than a second floor.

"The bathroom's upstairs, the room to your right if you want to use the bathroom." Jake mentioned, leaning down a bit to talk near Lilly's ear. "I'm going to get a fire going and start putting the food away while you do that."

Lilly nodded. "Okay. The bedroom's up there, too, I'm guessing?" When Jake nodded, she suggested, "I can take our bags up there while I'm at it, then."

Jake smiled. "Good idea." He kissed her cheek before handing her both duffel bags and heading for the living room. Lilly watched him for a moment before heading for the stairs and going on up.

When she reached the top, she couldn't help smiling even wider than before. The whole second floor was pretty much just the bedroom, with a king size bed in the middle, the headboard against the windows. As Jake mentioned, there was an open door off to her right, where she could just see a toilet peaking at her.

Placing the bags on the mattress, Lilly headed for the bathroom and quickly did her business. Her hair was windswept and knotted, so she grabbed her hairbrush, which was peaking out of one of her bag's side pockets. It involved a lot of yanking on her poor hair, but she eventually brushed it back to its usual waviness before heading back downstairs.

The air was already a bit warmer when she reached the bottom of the stairs, as there was a fire going in the fireplace. Jake was now in the kitchen putting things in the gray, steel fridge.

"Need any help?" Lilly asked as she came up behind him. Jake smiled over his shoulder at her.

"If you want to put the rest of this in the fridge while I put this on the stove, that'd be a big help." he admitted, lifting a lidded pot out of the cooler. Lilly looked at the pot, and then at the cooler. It still amazed her how Emily fit all those things into one cooler. She was like the Mary Poppins of the pack.

"Sure." she smiled as she started taking items out of the cooler and placing them into the fridge or on the counter. Milk, orange juice, cheese slices, a loaf of bread, a few packs of cold cuts, a packet of bacon, and eggs.

Lilly paused again when she pulled a carton of eggs out of the cooler. She carefully opened it and peaked inside. Surprisingly, none of them looked cracked or bad.

"How did you not break these running here?" she murmured in surprise before closing the lid and placing the carton on a shelf inside the fridge door.

"You doubt my abilities?" Jake mocked offense before winking at her.

"Oh, shush." Lilly laughed, swatting Jake's shoulder. Seeing there was no food or drinks left in the cooler, she closed the lid and approached Jake at the stove. She slipped her arms around his middle in a soft hug, peaking around his shoulder to see what he was heating up on the stove. It looked and smelt like Emily's beef stew.

"Mm." she hummed, "That smells good."

Jake stirred the stew with a large spoon in one hand, his other hand resting over hers and running his fingers over her skin. It wasn't long before the stew was nice and hot and Jake was scooping it into bowls. They sat side-by-side at the kitchen island on the stools as they ate, having simple casual conversation about nothing and everything.

When they finished eating, Jake sent Lilly to sit in the living room, ignoring all protests, while he did the dishes. Lilly curled up comfortably on the corner of the couch, tucking her feet under her. The warmth of the fire barely reached her cool skin, making her just warm enough to be comfortable. The fire was about half the size it was when Jake first started it when they arrived a couple hours before.

About five minutes later, Jake walked around the couch toward the fireplace. He pulled a log out of the cardboard box sitting on the floor next to it and placed the log in the dying fire, bringing the flames back to life. He waited a moment to ensure the fire was no longer dwindling before turning back toward the couch.

"Scoot." he ordered simply, leaning over to prod at Lilly's ribs. She gave him a weird look, but scooted away from the arm of the couch. Jake plopped himself down on the couch and pulled his feet up. With his back leaning against the arm of the couch, he gently pulled Lilly into the space between his legs.

Lilly was about to ask him what he was doing when she felt his thumbs press into the muscles of her back next to her spine. Her eyes fell closed instantly, a quiet groan slipping out of her lips and her shoulders slumped. Jake grinned, brushing Lilly's hair over her shoulder with one hand before continuing to massage her back.

"So, not that I'm complaining, but why are you giving me a massage?" Lilly mumbled quietly, leaning her head back as Jake ran his hands down to the small of her back to massage the knots from her muscles.

"Because this weekend is all about you, and I've noticed you have more knots in your back than my hair when Rachel started using me as her Barbie when we were kids."

Lilly snorted, imagining a young Rachel braiding a young Jake's long hair. "Well, I officially love your hands." she mumbled distractedly.

Jake smirked, moving his hands up to cup her neck and pressing his thumbs into the back of her neck. "You know, most guys would take that the wrong way." he teased.

Lilly slowly opened her eyes, staring ahead at the far wall. She thought about saying that maybe that was what she meant, but she decided against it, remaining quiet instead. They sat in a comfortable silence for about half an hour as Jake carefully massaged the tenseness out of Lilly's back and shoulders. By the time he was done, she was half asleep and nearly slouched back against his chest.

Jake ran his hands over Lilly's shoulders and down her arms before crossing his arms over her chest, holding her close while he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Feel better?" he murmured near her ear, his nose touching her jaw.

A soft smile tugged Lilly's lips up as she peaked her eyes open and turned her head to look at him. "Mhm. Thanks. That was really sweet."

Jake smiled in return, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. "Anything else you want to do or do you just want to cuddle on the couch?" he asked softly, shifting his arms to be around her stomach instead of her chest.

Cuddling with him on the couch sounded like heaven to Lilly, that is until she felt his fingers accidentally brush her bare stomach and hip where her sweater rode up. A shock ran through her and she shivered before she could stop herself.

Turning her head, Lilly peaked over her shoulder at him. She looked him over for a few long moments, and he did the same, clearly wondering what was going on in her head. She bit her lip for a second before saying, "Actually,…I can think of something I'd like to do."

Jake raised an eyebrow at her, a smirk slipping onto his face. "Oh, really? And what would that be?" he asked in amusement.

Lilly turned her body just enough so that she could easily press her lips to his. She brought her hand up and threaded her fingers through his cropped hair, feeling his hands resting on her hip and the small of her back as he returned the kiss eagerly.

They continued kissing for a while, but Jake decided they needed a new position when he felt Lilly press herself back into his lap. So, he gripped her hips in his hands and lifted her just enough to turn her around and lay her down on her back on the couch, crawling forward to hover over her. Her chest was heaving with every breath she took, and her breath was warm on his skin. Instead of continuing their kiss, Jake nipped her jaw and moved his lips to her neck, kissing and licking at the warm skin. His wolf started pushing at his resolve, just like the last time they were in this position. His mate was beneath him, willing and eager. Her pulse was beating against his mouth as he kissed her neck. His wolf continued pushing, demanding he mate with his imprint and mark her, making her his in every way.

Jake knew he needed to stop. He prepared himself to do it, until Lilly lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist, then wrapped her arms around his neck. She lifted her head and pressed her own lips to his neck. She then pulled back just enough to talk against his neck, her soft lips and hot breath brushing his skin.

"Jake, please. Please don't stop." she begged, "I want this. I want to be with you like this. You've done everything for me, you've been there for me all this time. Please."

Jake swallowed thickly, closing his eyes as he tried to keep his body from touching hers. But that was hard to do when she was literally clinging to him, almost every part of her body touching his. "Lilly,…say it. I want you to be completely, 100% sure of what you want. I don't want you to regret anything we do. I need you to actually tell me what you want."

Lilly pulled away from his neck and pressed a soft, inviting kiss to his lips, opening her mouth to his and slipping her tongue in his mouth. After a few moments, she pulled away. Jake almost followed her, not wanting the kiss to end, but he forced himself to stay still as she looked up into his eyes.

"I am sure, Jake. I want you to make love to me." she whispered, her glistening brown eyes not leaving his for even a moment.

Jake swallowed again, trying to wet his suddenly dry throat. "I…we don't have any protection, Flower. I can't-"

Lilly bit her lip awkwardly. "Um, about that. Remember how you said Rachel and Kim packed my bag?"

"Yeah." Jake answered cautiously.

"Well,…when I got my hairbrush out of a side pocket to brush my hair…I sorta, kinda caught a glimpse of a condom box." she admitted quietly, her cheeks pinking in awkward embarrassment.

Jake closed his eyes, ducking his head to bury his face in her neck to hide his own embarrassment. "Of course they did." he mumbled into her neck.

Lilly bit her lip, running one hand through the hair on the back of his neck. "I love you." she whispered almost silently.

Jake shifted his head against her neck, but didn't move away. "I love you, too."

"So,…can we…?"

Jake pulled back and pressed a sweet kiss to her lips before looking her in the eye. "You really think I'd say 'no' to having sex with you?" he grinned in amusement.

Lilly smiled, laughing quietly as Jake resumed their earlier kisses. After a few minutes, she mumbled into the kiss, "Jake?"

"Mhm." he mumbled moving back down to the other side of her neck, running a hand up her ribs.

"I want you to mark me."

Jake's head snapped up, straightening his arms so he stared down at where her head was lying between his hands on the couch cushion. She stared back seriously, her eyes pleading with him. His wolf reared up, trying to fight for control so he'd do just as his imprint demanded, but Jake couldn't allow that. There was no way he'd let his wolf have control the first time he made love to his imprint.

Jake swallowed. He almost asked if she was sure, but he knew she was. He could see it in her eyes and feel it in his heart. She wanted him to mark her.

"It may hurt." he warned quietly.

"I trust you." she whispered in response.

"I…I don't want to hurt you." he admitted quietly, his eyes pleading her to understand.

Lilly's eyes softened and she lifted a hand to run her fingers soothingly through his hair, her fingertips messaging his scalp. "I know you'd never hurt me on purpose, Jake. I know you'll do everything you can to make sure it doesn't hurt. I love you and I trust you, Jake. Please. I want this to be something we share with each other. I want to have that extra connection with you and your wolf. Please."

Jake's resolve crumbled completely and he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. "Okay."

He stood up from the couch and gently lifted Lilly into his arms, carrying her up the stairs to the bedroom.

 **XXX**

 **Wow, can't believe I'm already at this part of the story. Hope everyone liked this chapter. Let me know what you all thought. : )**


	24. Chapter 24

Lilly slowly felt herself being pulled from sleep, like she was surfacing from under deep, warm water. The first thing she noticed was that she was a bit cooler than she remembered being when falling asleep. The second thing she noticed as she tried to work up to opening her eyes was that she could hear water running.

Finally forcing her eyelids open, she found herself staring at a wall made of golden brown logs. She shifted a bit and winced when she felt a bit of soreness between her legs and in her lower belly. That was when her memories rushed back to her.

She smiled as she remembered the night before. As she expected, Jake had gone out of his way to be gentle with her. It still hurt a little bit, mostly when he broke her hymen, but that was pretty much it. Mostly it was just a bit uncomfortable because, well, Jake obviously wasn't average in size anywhere else, of course he wouldn't be average size down there.

There'd also been a bit of pain when he marked her, since his teeth had sharpened and broke her skin. It stung a little bit, but she was a little distracted what with their… _finishing_. After they came down from their highs, Jake had pulled his teeth from her skin and licked the mark a few times, his saliva sealing the wound and helping it heal. After that, Jake had rolled to the side so he didn't squish her and pulled her into his chest. They'd talked a little bit, but they were both rather tired and cozy, so they just drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

The squeak of a door hinge made Lilly's eyes drift up just as Jake opened the bathroom door and walked out, wearing only a pair of boxers that hung low on his slender hips. His eyes met hers and he smiled.

"Morning. How're you feeling?" he asked gently, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her, his fingers brushing her hair from her face.

She smiled. "Fine. You?"

"On cloud 9." he admitted with his bright smile before his eyes scanned her face more closely. "You're sure you're fine? No pain or soreness?" he pushed.

Lilly grabbed his hand in hers, holding it to her chest. "I'll admit, I'm a teeny tiny bit sore down there, but not enough to be considered painful. Last night was incredible, Jake, seriously. I promise. I loved it." she assured him quietly.

Jake's smile showed his relief. "Good. 'Cause it was the best night of my life, and I'd hate myself if it wasn't great for you." His eyes shifted to the left side of her neck and he lifted his free hand to gently brush his thumb over his mark. It had already scarred over, looking years old instead of hours. The scar tissue was just a couple shades paler than her tan skin, and it was a perfect circle of tiny dots, the marks from his K9 teeth being just a bit bigger than the others.

"How does it look?" Lilly asked quietly, her eyes watching Jake's as he examined the mark.

"Like a dog bite." he grinned in mild amusement. "It's not very visible, I think it's more obvious for supernatural creatures. I doubt a normal human would even notice it unless they were looking for it."

Lilly nodded slowly, wanting to see it for herself.

"So, um, apparently my nosy sister not only packed condoms for us in your bag, she also got into my bag and left me a jar of bath salts with a post it note telling me 'this should help with any of Lilly's soreness' with a winky face at the end."

Lilly laughed. "I love your sisters."

Jake rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I guess despite their annoying nosiness they are good for something." Lilly swatted his shoulder, earning more laughter from Her Wolf. "Anyway, do you want me to run you a bath with that?"

"If you're offering, I won't object." she admitted with a smile. Jake leaned down and gave her a soft kiss before leaning back and standing. "I love you."

Jake winked at her over his shoulder as he headed for the bathroom. "Love you, too."

It took the bath about ten minutes to be full, and then Jake came back out and carried her, completely naked, into the bathroom.

"I could've walked, you know." Lilly pointed out as they entered the bathroom, her arms crossed over her bare chest. Even though Jake had seen her completely naked the night before, she was still just a tiny bit self-conscious, especially since the room was a little nippy.

"I know, I know, you're a strong, independent woman and all that jazz." Jake teased, "But I wanted to take care of my girl this morning, okay?"

Lilly couldn't help but smile as Jake carefully lowered her into the warm, soothing water in the bathtub, the air and water smelling a bit like lavender.

Despite telling him she could bathe herself, Jake was in a particularly helpful mood. He sat on the floor next to the tub and washed her hair with her shampoo and conditioner, his calloused fingers messaging her scalp in a way that nearly put her to sleep again, and he helped her bathe with her body wash. When he was sure her skin was clean, he wrapped his arms around the top of her chest from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder and leaning his head against hers.

"I should probably phase and look around, check in with the pack. You know, being Alpha and all." he grinned, earning a chuckle from Lilly. "You can stay in here for a little while if you want. I shouldn't be more than 20 minutes, and when I get back I'll make us breakfast. Sound good?"

"Hm. I can get out now and make breakfast. You made dinner, did the dishes, gave me a massage, _and_ you just bathed me. This weekend may be about me, but I can at least make breakfast so you've got a hot meal when you get back from checking in with the guys." A thought suddenly occurred to Lilly and she turned to stare at Jake with wide eyes. "You better not show them what we did last night." she warned.

Jake chuckled. "Relax. They probably already know we did it, and it'll be difficult not to at least think that we did it, but I won't show them any details, I promise."

"Good. Well, you can go do that now so I can get out and make breakfast." she suggested, kissing his cheek.

"Alright. I'll be back as soon as I can." Jake promised before standing up and leaving the room. Lilly stayed in the warm tub for a minute longer before pulling the drain and getting out, drying off with a warm, fluffy towel. She dressed in a pair of loose jeans and a hooded sweatshirt, going back to the bathroom mirror to braid her wet hair and get her first look at the mark on her neck. She smiled slightly at the mark before turning off the bathroom light and going downstairs.

The fireplace no longer had a flame in it, Jake had probably let it die when they went upstairs the night before, and it wasn't cold enough yet to really need it going again. Entering the kitchen, she got the carton of eggs and pack of bacon from the fridge, grabbing a pan out of the cupboard. She turned on the stove and placed the pan on the front burner.

Lilly laid some strips of bacon on the pan while getting out a bowl. She cracked about six eggs to start, whisking it so she could make some scrambled eggs. She used a spatula to flip the bacon over just as she heard the door open and close.

"That was quick. Did the guys have anything interesting to say?" she asked curiously.

It was silent for several moments. Lilly was just about to turn around when she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head…and everything went black.

XXX

As soon as Jake was outside and in the woods, he stripped off his boxer shorts and phased. He took off at a jog, running less than a quarter mile away from the cabin to start running a circle around it. _'Anybody out there?'_ he asked after a few moments.

 _'Yeah. Me and Seth.'_ Jared answered from way back in La Push.

 _'Hi Jake! How's Lilly doing?'_ Seth asked happily.

 _'She's good. She's probably starting breakfast by now.'_ Jake answered, successfully keeping all details from the night before out of his mind. He didn't want any of the pack seeing Lilly the way he had. That was for his eyes only. And he certainly didn't need to poison Seth's mind anymore than Paul already had. _'Anyway, how's everything back home?'_

 _'Pretty boring and quiet, actually.'_ Jared answered slowly.

 _'And that's unusual? This guy tends to wait a while before he attacks again.'_ Jake responded.

 _'Yeah, I know…but we haven't even caught a whiff of his scent for a few days, usually he hangs around just outside the border, even if we never actually see him. I don't know, maybe I'm just looking for something where there's nothing.'_ Jared decided thoughtfully.

 _'Maybe.'_ Jake mumbled thoughtfully before the fur along his spine suddenly stood on end. He slowed to a stop and lifted his head, his ears perked as his eyes scanned the woods.

 _'What's wrong?'_ Jared asked worriedly, picking up on the change in Jake's thoughts.

Jake twitched, his chest suddenly clenching with panic. His wolf started fighting for control and Jake barely managed to clamp down on his wolf.

 _'Lilly.'_

That one thought ran through his head before he turned and bolted back toward the cabin, the trees blurring past him. He made it back to the cabin within a minute. He phased out just as he reached the front steps of the cabin, running up the steps on his two human feet without even slowing down.

The stench hit him before he even slammed the front door open. His eyes scanned the open space.

"Lilly?!" he called frantically, even though he already knew she was gone. He couldn't hear her and her scent wasn't fresh like it would be if she were still there. And the frantic tugging in his chest told him she wasn't gone of her own free will. And of course, the sickly sweet scent of that same damn leech filled the room, telling him exactly who took his mate.

Turning on his heel, Jake bolted back outside. He leapt off the porch, phasing in the air and hitting the ground hard on his paws. He raced into the trees, not even noticing the light snow flurries falling from the sky. Multiple panicked voices filled his head, telling him his pack was all phased in.

 _'Jake?! Where's Lilly? Is she okay?' someone demanded worriedly._

 _'No, she's not okay! The bloodsucker took her!'_

 **XXX**

 **Sorry for the cliffhanger, and for it being a bit on the short side, but I'll get the next chapter up no later than Monday. Tell me what you all thought.**


	25. Chapter 25

Lilly grimaced, her head aching like there was a gorilla in her head, beating the inside of her skull. Her head wasn't resting on a fluffy pillow or Jake's chest. It felt cold and hard. When she finally forced her eyes open, she looked around.

She was in a cold, dark building. It looked old. The walls were made of wood planks, and they looked like they were rotting, and the building creaked whenever it was hit by a hard gust of wind. The floor was made of cold cement, which would explain why her cheek felt numb from resting on the icy-cold floor.

She groaned, trying to sit up. Her body felt heavy and sluggish. She heard a metal clanging and looked down. Her right wrist was in a rusty, steel shackle and chained to a pole, which looked like it had been violently stabbed into the cement floor and twisted at the top so the chain couldn't be slipped off the end. Lilly shuddered when the thought that only a creature with supernatural strength could do that.

That thought was what brought everything rushing back to her. She'd been making breakfast for Jake the morning after they had sex for the first time, and then…she couldn't remember anything after that. She must've been knocked out.

She whimpered in panic, trying to yank at the chain. When that obviously failed, she used her left hand to try pulling at the shackle on her wrist, her nails scratching at the clamps.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." That voice made Lilly's head snap up so fast it her dizzy. The vampire was leaning against the far wall, his leather jacket and dark hair melting into the shadows even as his pale face seemed to glow in the darkness. "Wouldn't want to hurt herself, now, would you?" he teased.

Lilly swallowed thickly. She was confused. She didn't understand why she was still alive. Why would he drag it out? Didn't he want to kill her?

"Why did you bring me here?" she whispered, knowing he would hear her easily.

"Well, the answer to that is simple." he shrugged. Lilly blinked and he was suddenly in her face, crouched down right in front of her. She flinched back, but couldn't tear her gaze from his dark, blood red eyes as he smirked at her. "I want you conscious when I kill you. I want to watch the life drain from your eyes as I drain the blood from your _petite_ body." he explained, dragging his index finger from her temple, down her cheek and neck to her collarbone. She shuttered at the cold, disgusting feeling.

Lilly got the feeling she didn't have much time. If she wanted the pack to have even a chance at finding her, she needed to buy them some time. She needed to distract him somehow.

"W-why are you doing this?" It was the first thing that popped in her mind, but she honestly did want to know. Why was she so special that he did all this just to kill her?

He shrugged nonchalantly, pulling his hand from her face to rest his arms on his bent up knees. "That's rather easy to explain, I suppose. See, I only have vague memories from when I was human, but what I do remember…" he chuckled before continuing, "When I was human, I found a lot of joy in picking victims, playing with them, torturing them, and then killing them. It was a rush. Of course, after I was changed, around 1952, that wasn't quite as entertaining. That was simply too easy. I needed more of a challenge. It became more of a hunt. I'd pick victims, hunt them, sometimes play with them before I ended them, and I got the extra bonus of a meal in the end." he smirked in a sickening way that made Lilly's stomach churn.

"Of course, that night in your house, I wasn't even really hunting. I merely climbed in your parents' bedroom window and killed them before they knew what was happening." Lilly flinched, her eyes clenched shut. "And then you walked in." he gripped her chin in his hand and lifted her face closer to his, his grip almost painfully tight. "I could've easily killed you. It would've been so easy; _too_ easy, really. But then you had to go and drop your stupid water glass and start that fire."

Lilly shivered and looked down. The vampire was holding her left wrist in his other hand, though he was no longer holding her chin. His thumb nail was trailing down the puckered, scarred skin from when she got burned that night.

"I bolted. Since you hang out with those mutts, I'm assuming you know that fire is really the only thing that can kill us vampires." he continued, his grip tightening ever so slightly around her wrist. "Ever since that night, you've been in my head. Did you really think you got off so easily? My prey has never escaped me, not once. Why would a weak, little human girl like you be the first?

"Of course, the wolves provided a bit of a challenge, which just made it even more of a game. Taunting them, getting past them, keeping them confused. It was all so fun, I'm almost sad it's almost over. But I'm sure I'll find a new game after you're dead." he finished, brushing her hair over her shoulder, trailing his thumb down her neck over her pulse point.

Lilly closed her eyes, barely swallowing the bile that rose in her throat. "Th-they'll kill you. You won't get away with this. I'm the Alpha's mate. They'll destroy you." she warned shakily.

He chuckled. "We'll see."

XXX

Jake practically flew through the trees, following the sixth sense he could feel in his very center, telling him exactly where to go. With the snow coming down thicker than before and sticking to the ground, it was good he had a way to track Lilly because their scent was already almost gone. His human side was pushed to the backseat for the moment, his wolf taking the lead in finding his mate. He could sense most of the pack following him. A few others were staying on the reservation and Jared and Sam were contacting the Cullens to ask them to help hunt the leech, just in case.

He'd been following the leech's trail for about an hour, but the damn bloodsucker got a good five miles on him, just enough for him to stay ahead.

Finally, _finally_ , he could smell her. Lilly's wonderful cinnamon and green apple scent reached his nose from just ahead.

Throwing his head back with a loud howl, Jake surged forward, wanting to end this once and for all.

XXX

The vampire's head suddenly snapped up, his red eyes fixed blankly on the far wall. After a moment, he turned back to look down at Lilly.

"It seems your dogs got here faster than I expected." he noted.

Relief flooded Lilly before she realized that she was still alone with the vampire for at least a few more moments.

In a flash, the leech lifted her scarred, left hand. Bringing it to his lips, he sank his teeth into her wrist. He figured, if he couldn't have her for a meal, he could still claim this as a victory. Burning agony caused Lilly to scream in shock as his venom began flowing in her veins.

Forcing himself away from her mouthwatering blood, the vampire turned and blurred away. About a minute later, the wall came crashing down. Several four-legged creatures sped through the building in frantic pursuit of the bloodsucker.

Embry and Seth, who were at the back of the group, phased out and pulled their shorts on, racing across the small building to fall at Lilly's side. She was whimpering in pain, her head thrashing back and forth.

"What's wrong with her?!" Seth asked worriedly, quickly snapping the shackle off her wrist.

Embry looked her over, gently brushing her hair from her face as his eyes landed on her left hand. Just barely visible over her burn scars was a bite mark. Embry stiffened in horror.

"Seth…he bit her." Embry murmured.

"What? But, but he couldn't! What's gonna happen to her? She can't be a vampire!" Seth argued weakly, sounding more like a kid than ever before.

Embry swallowed thickly, unsure about what to do. Could he suck the venom out himself? Where were the Cullens? Yeah, they were a bit behind the pack, but shouldn't they have arrived by now?

Just as he thought that, Carlisle and his mate blurred into the building, the rest of the coven speeding past in the direction the pack had gone.

"Carlisle! He bit her!" Embry called. The doctor was beside them before the words even left Embry's lips. Embry and Seth had to push their wolves down as the vampire hovered over their Alpha's imprint. Good or bad, it went against their instincts.

Carlisle looked her over for a few moments before sighing, true sadness in his eyes as he looked back up at Embry.

"What? Don't just sit there, do something! Suck the venom out or something!" he ordered frantically.

"The venom's already spread too far." Carlisle explained, "If I tried to suck the venom out now, I'd have to suck out almost 2 liters to ensure I got all the venom out. That's nearly 40% of her blood, it would kill her." he looked sadly between the two wolves, taking in their horrified expressions. "I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do."


	26. Chapter 26

Lilly blinked her eyes open, her eyes quickly taking in her surroundings. She appeared to be in the forest…the treetops towered above her and the cool grass was soft under her head and back. Slowly, she used her hands on the ground to sit up, her eyes scanning the woods around her.

She could hear what sounded like laughter and voices in the distance, and smell smoke and seawater. Pushing herself to her feet, Lilly slowly walked through the trees until, to her shock, she came to the edge of a Native American village.

There were several wooden huts, a few fires, the seashore was just within Lilly's sight and she could see several canoes on the shore, and there were many people going about their business; weaving baskets, bringing in fish from the ocean, children running around the camp…

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Lilly's head snapped around, her body spinning to look behind her. A couple was standing there, smiling at her. The woman had spoken. She was wearing a long, animal skin dress with a shawl draped over her shoulder, though it somehow looked a bit more modern than the other women Lilly had caught glimpses of. The man next to her was dressed only in an animal skin skirt-type outfit. The woman's black hair was long and wavy, while his was short with a tint of gray on the sides. Lilly, to her shock, knew them.

"Mom…?Dad?" she breathed in shock, her wide eyes switching between them rapidly. "But…how?" Her elation at seeing her parents quickly changed to horror, her blood going cold. "No,…I can't be…"

Her mother looked at her with a small, sad smile before approaching her and wrapping her in a hug. Lilly quickly wrapped her arms around her mom in return, still in disbelief.

"I can't be dead." she whispered fearfully, her eyes peaking over her mom's shoulder to see her dad standing just behind his wife. He smiled tenderly at her, lifting a hand to brush a tear from her cheek with his thumb.

"Wait," Lilly slowly pulled away, "the vampire…he bit me. Wouldn't that change me into a Cold One? Shouldn't I be changing, not dying?" she asked in confusion. Not that she wanted to be changed, that would be even worse than death in her opinion. To become her worst nightmare, literally, and Her Wolf's greatest enemy…Yeah, she'd rather be dead.

"Well, that's a bit complicated, young one." a deep, warm voice answered Lilly's question.

Looking back over her shoulder, Lilly saw another Quileute man approaching them from the village. He was wearing a headdress that looked like a wolf, a leather necklace that looked like it had fangs or claws, a strap of animal skin wrapped around his bicep, and loose pants made of animal skin. He was very tall and built, it was easy to see that he was a Protector, unlike her dad who was barely 6 feet and average build. His black hair was long and straight, his jaw line defined and cheekbones chiseled. He was extremely handsome; then again he looked very much like Jacob, which was probably why Lilly thought he was handsome.

"Hello, Lilly." he smiled kindly at her as he came to a stop in front of her. "I'm Ephraim Black, the last Chief of the Quileute tribe."

Lilly stared at him, her eyes wide for a moment before she barely managed to say, "Hi." Ephraim seemed to find this funny, as he chuckled and glanced at her parents.

"I suppose we should explain why you're here." he continued gently.

"That'd be nice." she admitted quietly, still in shock. After all, she was standing in front of a legend, practically a celebrity!

He chuckled again before explaining, "I assume Jacob explained marking to you already?"

Lilly's hand went to the left side of her neck on instinct, and she felt immense relief when she felt the subtle bumps of her mark still there. "Yeah." she answered his question.

"Well, obviously there are some things living tribe members don't know, since the Spirits were the ones to really create marking. Some of the pack members have noticed already that the marking causes the imprint to gain a few…wolf-like traits. For example, their temperature will go up a degree or two. And it obviously strengthens the bond between wolf and imprint, which was the whole point to it. However, one thing no living tribe member has noticed, as they never had a reason to notice it before, is that the marking will cause the imprint to react to a Cold One's venom the same way a Protector would."

Lilly thought Ephraim's words over for a moment as he looked at her expectantly. Then, it hit her. "You mean,…it would kill me." she stated.

Instead of confirming it, since he didn't need to, Ephraim explained, "The ancestors decided it would be for the best, should it ever happen. If an imprint were to become a Cold One, she would technically be dead anyway. And even worse, she'd become an enemy and a danger to the tribe. It would be better for the tribe as a whole, as well as the wolf, if the venom killed her instead of changing her."

Lilly felt herself go into shock. "You mean,…I really am…dead?" she whispered, "But-but what about Jake? What'll happen to him?! He needs me!" she cried, looking pleadingly up at Ephraim.

"Do not worry, young one." Ephraim rested a hand on her shoulder. "Jacob is the Alpha of the pack, and future Chief of the tribe. His people need him, and he does indeed need you. Without you he wouldn't survive; he wouldn't want to. It isn't his time to join us, just as it isn't your time." Lilly felt hope flare in her chest as he went on, "You both have a long life together ahead of you. A life with your family, pack, and maybe a future with your own litter of pups." he finished with a smirk and a wink. Lilly looked down sheepishly, hearing her dad grumble something behind her.

"But… the venom. It's already inside me." she pointed out worriedly.

"It is." Ephraim confirmed with a nod, "And in any other situation the venom would slowly be killing you. But as we speak, the venom is gradually leaving your body, going back through your bloodstream the way it came, and out through the Cold One's bite mark. Your unconscious body is currently surrounded by two Protectors and a couple of the Cullens. Once the venom starts leaving your body I'm sure the Cullens' leader, Carlisle, will know to suck the venom out. Everything will be fine."

Lilly's eyes fell closed, her shoulders slouching in relief. "Thank you." she breathed, quickly giving Ephraim a hug. He chuckled and hugged her back before allowing her to step back.

"It'll be a few minutes before you're able to leave us, so I'll let you say goodbye to your parents." he offered before turning and heading back toward the village.

Lilly nodded before turning back to her parents. Her mom smiled at her.

"You've gotten so big." she whispered tearfully, putting both hands on Lilly's shoulders. When her parents died, Lilly had been a few inches shorter than her mom, but now they were the same height.

"I've missed you both." Lilly whispered in response, looking at her dad.

"We know, sweetie." her mom answered.

"We've missed you, too. But we've been watching over you and your grandmother since we left you. You were never alone, Lilly." her dad assured her, stepping forward and tucking some of her hair behind her ear. "And about what he said about you and Jacob having a _litter of pups_ in the future," her dad paused, pointing toward where Ephraim disappeared, "that better not happen for _several_ years at least."

Lilly ducked her head to hide a sheepish smile while her mom lightly smacked her husband's arm.

"Oh, shush. Jake's a perfect gentleman with her." she chided before turning back to Lilly. Lilly could feel herself fading away, her body starting to ache. She had a feeling that meant she would be back in her real body soon. Her mom stepped forward and kissed her forehead. "Goodbye sweetie. We love you, remember that."

"I will. I love you, too." Lilly whispered tearfully. She gave both her parents a tight hug, feeling their arms wrapped tight around her.

When she stepped back she watched as her parents and the forest around them slowly faded from her sight until all she saw was black.

XXX

It was silent in the old warehouse. Embry was knelt on the ground, his eyes fixed helplessly on Lilly's face. She was whimpering still, twitching, but for the most part, she was still. He could feel the warmth leaving her body, replaced with the ice cold of a vampire's skin.

Seth was knelt at his side, trying to hide the fact that a few tears were falling down his cheeks. Carlisle and Esme were standing a few feet away, talking almost silently among themselves, but Embry didn't care enough to even try and listen in. All he cared about…was that they were going to lose Lilly. His friend, practically his sister, the love of his best friend's life. Even if she didn't die, she'd become a Cold One. It was, quite possibly, the worst thing that could ever happen to their pack.

Embry's eyes passed slowly over Lilly's body, until they settled on the leech's bite mark on Lilly's left wrist. As he stared distractedly at it for a few moments before he noticed something. He blinked and leaned a bit closer. The bite mark was slowly disappearing under a growing pool of venom. Embry's eyes widened.

"Carlisle! Something's happening!" he shouted, even though they could've heard him if he whispered. Seth's head snapped around just as Carlisle was once again kneeling at Lilly's other side in a flash, his golden eyes fixed on the bite mark. His cold fingers lightly touched her arm and his eyes seemed to scan her. He looked confused and shocked.

"How is this possible?" he murmured, more to himself.

"What is it?" Esme asked quietly, resting her hand on his shoulder as she stood behind him.

"It seems the venom is somehow…leaving her body." he answered, still bewildered.

"But…how is that possible?" Esme asked.

"I'm not sure. I've never seen anything like it before."

"Well, why are you just sitting there? This is a good thing, right? If it's leaving her body you can suck it out now without draining her blood, right?" Embry demanded quickly.

Carlisle nodded before lifting Lilly's hand to his lips and sank his fangs into the bite mark. Embry wanted to look away because the sight disgusted him, but he refused. He wanted to somehow ensure this act saved Lilly's life, not endangered it all over again.

XXX

The pack raced through the trees, refusing to let the leech escape them once again. Jake was in the lead, his eyes zoned in on the leech's leather jacket flapping behind him. Every step brought Jake just a couple inches closer to the leech until he was so close he could feel the breeze of the leech's ankles.

With one final lunge, Jake latched onto the back of the leech's jacket. He yanked his head, throwing the leech off balance and tossing him to the right.

Paul and Quil pounced on him before he could get back on his feet, each ripping off an arm and a leg. The rest of the pack formed a circle around the leech, making sure he couldn't escape them. Paul and Quil backed into the circle, each holding a dangling limb in their jaws. The Cullens arrived just then, stepping into the gaps left by the pack to ensure the rogue leech couldn't slip by. All the Cullens except Carlisle and Esme were there, including a newborn, red-eyed Bella.

Jake snarled, his jaws chomping as he stepped into the circle, his yellow eyes fixed on the leech that had caused his mate so much pain.

The vampire had the nerve to smirk at him. "Going to kill me now, are you? Well, at least I can say I got one more victory before I went. As you kill me, your precious Lilly is becoming one of my kind. A vampire; the very creature you live to destroy."

Jake snapped, lunging forward and pinning the leech to the ground. His claws dug into the leech's shoulders, his jaws clamping down on his head. He twisted and yanked, making the granite-like neck creak and the vampire scream in pain. Finally, Jake ripped his head clean off. He raised himself up to his full height and lifted his head to show his pack the leech's head in his jaws before tossing it on the ground. He then threw his head back and gave a triumphant howl, which his pack quickly joined.

Jake stepped back and allowed his pack to rip into the carcass, getting their own revenge for what the leech had done to their pack, imprints, and families. As the mind reader, Edward, stepped forward with a lighter, Jake turned and raced back the way he'd come, back toward his imprint.

XXX

It took a few minutes for Carlisle to get all the venom out of Lilly, during which they heard Jake's howl and relaxed at the news that the leech that caused all of this was finally destroyed.

When he was positive that all the venom was out, Carlisle released Lilly's wrist and gently placed it on the ground. "I'll probably need to wrap it, but-"

A loud growl echoed in the warehouse, causing all heads to turn. Jake was standing in the large hole that the pack had broken through the wall. His head was low and his angry, yellow eyes were fixed on Carlisle.

Embry and Seth instantly ducked their heads in submission, but Embry breathed quietly, "You may want to back away. His wolf's in control, and he's not quite as reasonable about Cold Ones."

Carlisle slowly stood and backed away from Lilly, using his arm to keep Esme behind him as he ushered her back as well.

Jake's eyes moved with him until the doctor was against the far wall. Then, they snapped back to the unmoving body lying before his pack brothers. Jake slowly stepped forward, his eyes unmoving once they landed on Lilly's peaceful face. His ears could easily pick out the quiet _thump-thump_ of her heart.

Once he was standing over her, he ducked his head to sniff her over, his cold nose touching every inch of her he could until it landed on her wrist. At the sight of the bite mark his eyes flew back up to Carlisle and he took a threatening step forward with a growl thundering in his chest.

"No, Jake wait!" Embry stood up and held his hands up to stop his best friend. "He saved her. The other vampire bit her, but Carlisle sucked the venom out. She'll be fine. I promise."

Jake's yellow eyes stayed glued to Carlisle until he felt something brush his paw. His head snapped straight down and he stared at Lilly, but she didn't move. A whimper escaped Jake's throat before he could stop it and he dropped down to his belly. He nudged his nose into her neck and chin, trying to get a reaction.

He stared at her for a few moments before he saw her hand twitch. Then, to his amazement, her hand moved until it could lift and weakly fist the fur on his neck. He watched her eyes and saw her eyelids twitch and then peak open.

The familiar sight of her beautiful eyes finally calmed Jake's wolf down enough that he stepped back and allowed Human Jake back in control. A happy, puppy-like yip escaped Jake and he excitedly nuzzled her neck and cheek with his nose, licking her face and covering her in slobber. This caused Lilly to laugh quietly, even though she was barely half-conscious.

On the other side of the warehouse, the rest of the pack and the Cullens had arrived. Bella was standing between Edward and Alice, her red eyes fixed on Jacob and Lilly. Her heightened sense of smell could just pick up a drop of the mouthwatering scent of the blood from Lilly's wounds, and it caused her throat to burn.

Most of the memories of her human life had stayed, but she did have a few gaps in her memories. She remembered how important Jake was to her. She remembered him loving her, and she remembered loving him. And then Lilly came in. To Bella, Lilly stole Jake from her. Jake used to worship the ground she walked on, but then he started hating her because of Lilly. It was all _her_ fault.

The burning thirst in her throat combined with her anger, turning her red eyes black. She lunged forward.

"Bella! No!" Edward shouted, wrapping his arms around her waist. She nearly bowled him over with her strength. Emmett rushed over and tackled Bella into the ground, pinning her to the concrete floor. She thrashed around, hissing and spitting venom. She managed to knock Emmett off, but Jasper, Edward and Rosalie grabbed onto her and pinned her to the wall.

During the struggle, the pack had moved to stand between the newborn and Lilly. Embry and Seth also phased as a precaution and Jake moved to stand directly over Lilly, his paws planted on either side of her.

When the Cullens seemed to have Bella subdued once again, Jake directed his angry thoughts at Edward.

 _'The Treaty is officially dead, Cullen. I'm willing to allow your coven to leave here in one piece since the doctor sucked the venom out of Lilly and you helped us destroy that rogue, but you clearly can't keep your mate under control. The Treaty_ you _agreed to years ago has been broken, and she just proved she doesn't have the control be around humans. Take your coven and leave here, and_ never return _. If you do, you will be destroyed.'_

Edward met Jake's angry thoughts and knew there was no way he was talking his way out of this. So, he nodded once. "I understand, Jacob. We'll leave right now and never return. The house has already been sold and we have a new home in Alaska. You'll never see us again."

Bella thrashed angrily in Emmett and Jasper's arms, but they managed to keep a firm grip on her.

 _'Good.'_ Jake glanced at Carlisle before adding sincerely, _'And tell Carlisle thank you for saving Lilly. I truly am grateful for that.'_

Edward nodded. "He says thank you for saving her." he quietly told Carlisle.

The doctor nodded with a small smile. "It was the least I could do. We'll leave now, Jacob, and you have my word you'll never see us again."

With that, the Cullens blurred away, nearly half of them having to drag Bella along with them. Only when they were gone did the pack relax.

Jake carefully backed up so he no longer was standing over Lilly, careful not to step on her. Then he forced his wolf to calm down enough that he could phase back, his fur and claws melting away into bare skin and fingers. He knelt down next to Lilly's body. She was unconscious again, but her heart was still fairly strong and her temperature was close to normal. Jake brushed strands of hair away from her face, stroking his thumb down her cheek.

Satisfied that she was okay, at least for the moment, he scooped her up into his arms and began the trek home.

 **XXX**

 **Did you guys really think I'd turn Lilly into a vampire? I mean,** _ **really?!**_ **I may leave you hanging once in a while, but I'm not that cruel. ; )**


	27. Chapter 27

It felt like Lilly was slowly surfacing from a deep, warm water, her body floating up to consciousness. The first thing she was aware of was the soft blanket covering her body, and the combined smell in the air of her own scent and Jake's.

Her body ached a bit when she finally began forcing her eyes open. Her eyes peaked open and she glanced around when her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. She was in her own bedroom, and the lights were off. The only light was filtering in through her window, but it was dull and dim suggesting it was cloudy outside.

The sound of heavy breathing in the otherwise silent room made Lilly turn her heavy head to the other side, and the sight she found made a tired smile spread over her face. Her gran's armchair had been moved from the living room to her bedside, and Jake was asleep in it. He was slouched down in the chair, his head tilted forward and to the side a bit, and Lilly knew his back and neck would be aching when he woke up.

She reached over and stretched her arm as far as it would go and she barely touched her fingers to the back of Jake's hand. Even though he remained asleep, his hand instantly reacted to her touch and he gripped her hand tightly in his. She sat there and waited, her eyes on his sleeping face, as he slowly started to wake up.

His eyes blinked open, but with his head tilted down his eyes found their linked hands first and a small smile tugged at his lips. He lifted his head and looked right into Lilly's eyes, causing his smile to widen as he sat up straight.

"Hey. When'd you wake up?" he asked quietly.

"Just now." she answered before her brows furrowed. She couldn't quite remember what had happened before she fell asleep, so she wasn't sure why this felt so different. "What happened?" she murmured, more to herself.

Jake sighed, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the edge of her bed and holding her hand between both of his. "Remember, after school I surprised you by taking you on a trip to that cabin?" he urged, hoping she'd remember.

And she did. It all came rushing back and Lilly flopped back against her pillow, a long breath leaving her lungs. They'd arrived at the cabin, they'd had sex for the first time, the next morning Jake had left to run some laps and while he was away she'd been kidnapped by the vampire, and then it bit her, but her ancestors had saved her,…but that was all she remembered.

"Did you get him?" she whispered, looking back at Her Wolf worriedly.

Jake squeezed her hand, his eyes boring intensely into hers. "He's gone, Flower. I swear, he's dead. I destroyed him myself."

Lilly's eyes fell closed and she felt like the weight of the world lifted from her shoulders, making her feel at ease for the first time in forever. She didn't realize a few tears had escaped in her relief until Jake reached over and brushed them away. They sat in silence for a few minutes, and Lilly realized Jake had reached over her body and was lightly tracing a part of her left wrist, but it felt strange for some reason. She lowered her eyes and realized her wrist was wrapped in a white bandage. It was where the vampire had bitten her.

"That's where he bit you." Jake explained quietly, seeing where her eyes were directed. "On the way home, Embry explained that the venom had started leaving the wound before Carlisle sucked it out. No one knows how it was possible. It's never been heard of."

"I know how." she whispered more to herself, but of course Jake heard her.

"What?" he leaned forward a bit more, "You know how it happened? How? What is it?" he asked quickly.

Lilly bit her lip, glancing nervously up at him. "You'll think I'm crazy." she whispered.

Jake raised an eyebrow at her. "I think we passed crazy a while ago, sweetheart." he pointed out, partially joking.

Lilly smiled a bit. "True. Well,…After he bit me I sort of…well, I woke up and,…I wasn't _here_." She knew she made no sense, and she didn't need to see Jake's confused expression to know it.

"Um,…come again?" he questioned.

Lilly sighed, her eyes falling close. "You're not going to like to hear this, but please just hear me out."

"Of course." Jake assured her, tightening his hold on her hand. "Just talk to me, Lilly."

Lilly opened her eyes, but kept them lowered. "I woke up and…I talked to my parents." she started.

"What? But your parents are-"

"Dead." Lilly interrupted, finally turning to look Jake in the eye.

It took him a few moments for his brain to register what her words meant, because he simply _couldn't_ imagine a scenario where Lilly didn't make it. But the meaning of Lilly's words did eventually register and he gripped her hand almost painfully tight in his.

"What?" he breathed.

Lilly blinked tears out of her eyes and gripped Jake's hand in her own. "I got to talk to my parents and Ephraim Black. They explained a few things. Apparently, when the ancestors or whatever came up with imprinting and marking there were some details that living pack members obviously don't know yet because they've never been in a situation to discover it."

Jake looked even more confused, so Lilly quickly continued before he could interrupt again.

"One thing they had decided was to give imprints more wolf-like characteristics if they're marked. Things like raising their temperature a bit, which you mentioned Sam noticing with Emily." Jake nodded slowly, "And, well, another thing is that…marking would make it so that the imprint would react to vampire venom the same way as a wolf."

Lilly left that hanging as Jake understood her words. Panic filled his eyes. "What? But-but you didn't- you're not-"

Lilly turned and rested her free hand on his cheek to calm him down, and one of his hands instantly lifted to hold her hand to his cheek. "Jake, calm down. I'm right here. I'm alive and perfectly fine. You can hear my heartbeat, can't you? I'm okay."

Jake sighed in relief, turning his face to his lips could brush the puckered skin of the burn scar on her wrist. It took him a few minutes to calm down enough that he could continue the conversation. "Okay, so you're obviously not…dead." he started, struggling to get the last word out, "So, then how is that possible?"

Lilly slowly removed her hand from Jake's cheek, but he didn't release it from his hand as she laid back on her back. "Well, like I said I got to talk to my parents and Ephraim Black, who explained all of this. Even though I should've died, they had decided that the tribe and pack need you, and you need me. That you wouldn't, and wouldn't want to, survive without me. So, since it wasn't your time, it wasn't my time, either. So, instead of the venom killing me or changing me, it started going back out the way it came, and back out the bite so Carlisle could suck it out."

Jake ducked his head, holding her hand to his forehead as he took a deep breath. "Well, he was right about me being unable to live without you. I wouldn't have even tried to. And I can also see why they'd make it so the imprint would die instead of changing into a Cold One. That would've been hell having an imprint become a leech. There'd be so much conflict within the pack between protecting the tribe, destroying our enemy, and being unable to hurt an imprint. It would kill all of us being in that situation."

"I wouldn't want to be a vampire." Lilly whispered, "I'd rather die."

Jake's head shot up and he quickly slipped his hand behind her head, pulling her into a quick, firm kiss. When he pulled away, he kept their foreheads pressed together and stared into her eyes. "Don't say that. Please. I understand why you'd have that mentality, but I just found out that you almost died, I really don't want to hear those words leave your lips, ever."

Lilly nodded against his forehead before wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face into the side of his neck. Jake held her up against him with one arm wrapped around her back and his other hand against the back of her head. He nuzzled the left side of her neck and brushed a gentle kiss to his mark on her skin. The touch made her shiver and Jake couldn't help smiling. They sat like that for a while before Jake pulled away and gently pushed Lilly to lay back down, not wanting her to wear herself out.

"You need anything to eat or drink?" he offered.

Lilly desperately wanted to say yes, because her throat was a bit dry and her stomach felt completely empty, but she also wanted some questions answered.

Jake seemed to sense this, because he chuckled and said, "I'll go get you something to eat and drink quick, and while you eat I can fill you in on everything you missed. Okay?"

Lilly agreed and Jake quickly got her a bottle of water and a few sandwiches to eat while he explained everything.

Lilly had been unconscious for about a day, so it was now late afternoon of Christmas Eve. In the time since she'd been abducted quite a bit had happened, a lot of it _because_ of her abduction, really.

For one, as soon as the pack returned from rescuing Lilly, several of the wolves got enthusiastic greetings from their imprints. But the most surprising was the way Rebecca greeted Embry. She'd gone from sitting on Emily's couch, chewing her thumbnail to the nub, to leaping up from the couch at the sight of the pack. She'd leapt into Embry's arms and hugged him like she'd never see him again. Then, to everyone's shock, she'd pulled away, gripped the back of Embry's head in both hands, and kissed him. After everything had settled down, it was decided that Becca and Embry would be going on a date sometime between Christmas and New Years, after everything had settled down a bit. Despite the kiss, though, they insist they want to take it slow. After all, Rebecca was still recovering from her divorce, and Embry was still technically underage.

Second, Leah had finally told Kaden the whole truth, about the legends, pack, and imprinting. He'd been shell-shocked, and Leah thought he would've left her there on the cliff when she told him if it weren't for her also telling him what happened to Lilly. The worry over the younger girl, as well as not wanting to hurt Leah the way Sam had, and witnessing the family relations among the pack and level of devotion the guys had for their imprints eventually brought Kaden around to accepting everything.

Finally, Sam and Emily had finally decided on a wedding date. They'd been putting it off for nearly a year with all the vampire drama, but they'd finally decided to set a date. Since Emily didn't want to be extremely pregnant when she walked down the isle, they'd agreed on the second weekend in August, a few months after her May due date.

Lilly sat back in her bed, staring at Jake with a wide-eyed expression. "Holy crap." she muttered, "You're sure I've only been out for a day?"

Jake chuckled. "Yes, I am very sure."

Lilly nodded slowly, trying to see if she had any questions. "Okay,…so, you never told me how you found me, or what went down when you did."

The joy left Jake's face, giving him a more somber look. "Well, I knew the second he took you. My wolf went into a panicked frenzy and I bolted back to the cabin as fast as I could, but he'd already taken you. And with the snow sticking to the ground, I think the only reason I found you was because of our marking. It's just like Sam described it, it gave me a sort of sixth sense about you. There was a tug in my chest that lead me straight to you.

"While I was following that tug, someone went and called the Cullens, just in case we needed the backup. And I suppose it was good they were there, since Carlisle was there to suck the venom out. Of course, Embry told me later that originally he wasn't even going to try because the venom had spread so far he would've had to practically drain you of your blood." he finished with a slight growl in his voice, but he quickly calmed when Lilly grabbed his hand.

"Anyway, Embry and Seth stayed with you while the rest of us chased the leech down. I managed to throw him off balance so that Paul and Quil could pounce on him. Everyone blocked him in a circle so he couldn't escape, and then I destroyed him. I let the pack get their own revenge and one of the Cullens lit him up while I ran back to you.

"My wolf was in control so I wasn't thinking as clearly as I should've been, but Embry made sure I didn't destroy Carlisle after I saw that bite mark on your wrist. And then you kinda woke up a little bit and were able to grab my fur, which calmed my wolf down enough that I could take back control. And then, I don't know what caused it, but Bella, who was a newborn, just snapped. She went to lunge at you and half the coven had to pin her down. I finally put my foot down and demanded the Cullens leave and if they ever return they'll be destroyed. Carlisle gave us his word, they've sold the house and are moving to Alaska. We'll never see them again."

Lilly sighed in relief, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Good. If I never see another vampire again, it'll be too soon."

Jake chuckled. "Tell me about it."

"So, does this mean we can finally relax and have a somewhat normal life?" Lilly asked, partially hopeful and partially joking.

Jake smirked. "Relax? Probably. Normal? Yeah right."

 **XXX**

 **So, I am sad to say that the next chapter is the Epilogue. To be honest, it kinda feels like it came out of nowhere, but I guess that's life. The Epilogue will show ten years into the future with the pack and everyone. Anyway, let me know what you all thought of this somewhat-uneventful-but-not-quite chapter. : )**


	28. Epilogue

**Epilogue (10 years, 2016)**

As Jake had said, their lives were much more relaxed after that final showdown, though it wasn't exactly normal considering some of their 'family' turned into giant wolves to fight the occasional rogue vampire.

"Hey, Lilly! Can you give me a hand getting this shipment into the back?" Rebecca Call peaked into the back room of their shop where Lilly Black was working on a sketch on her art easel.

"Sure thing." Lilly smiled before standing up. A wave of nausea washed over her and she had to pause for a moment to let it pass. Her eyes fell closed and she put a hand on her stomach, thinking maybe that chicken sandwich she had for lunch had gone bad. It had been a week old. When the nausea passed, she left the room and approached the front counter where there was a stack of boxes that had just been delivered.

Lilly and Rebecca had started their own business, an art store, technically while Lilly was still in college. It had been out of home at first until they saved up enough money to buy their own shop in Port Angeles in 2013. They mostly sold their own art; paintings and sketches, as well as art supplies.

Lilly grabbed a couple boxes while Rebecca grabbed the other two and followed her sister-in-law back to the backroom. When they opened the door, a loud, happy shriek made them smile. Over in the far corner of the room was a small playpen; a colorful, plastic gate in the shape of an octagon. Inside was a few toys and a little one year old girl with short, soft, black hair and big hazel eyes. Everly Call was Rebecca and Embry's youngest and only daughter. Their oldest, Weston, was born in 2012, two years after they got married, and their second child was their son Hayden, born two years after his brother. Like several members of the pack, Embry had stopped phasing completely by 2013, so he could focus on taking care of his family and his job.

"Are you having fun, sweetie?" Rebecca cooed at her daughter as they set the boxes on a shelf to be sorted out the next day. It was nearing closing time for them, and then they could head home.

Everly's answer was a happy giggle.

Most of the pack's kids were babysat by Emily at her house, unless they were school aged, or, in Rebecca's case, she wanted her youngest with her for as long as she could. Still acting as the pack mother, Emily had become a stay-at-home mom since Sam's business was doing so well, except for once in a while when someone asked her to cater for an event and paid her. And she admitted that deep down, cooking for and taking care of her family, both immediate and extended, was her main passion.

Sam and Emily's first born had come into the world in May of 2007, a beautiful little girl named Summer, who was now nine years old. Sam and Emily had gotten married a few months later and Sam had decided to gradually slow down on the phasing so he could stop, which he succeeded in doing in 2010 in time for their son Blake to be born, and then two years later their son Holden was born.

Kim had been helping Emily for a few months recently while she was on maternity leave with her second daughter Taylor, but she was back at work now as an elementary teacher in the rez school. Jared worked with Sam and Paul, and their first daughter, Paige, had just turned 3, being born about 4 years after Jared and Kim got married.

Rebecca's cell phone rang and while she answered it Lilly started packing up their things so they were ready to leave once the clock struck 5:00, since the drive home was almost an hour and a half. Lilly could tell by how happy Becca's voice was, and the happy laugh she gave a few times, that she was talking with Embry. Ever since they'd started dating it was easy to see how happy and carefree Becca was, so much more at ease than she'd been while going through her divorce to Solomon. Rachel and Leah even admitted she was more like the old Becca from their high school years.

Lilly was just packing up Everly's diaper bag when Rebecca hung up the phone and turned to her.

"That was Embry-"

"Obviously." Lilly grinned.

Becca narrowed her eyes at her. "Shut up. He told me he's picking up Wes and Hayden and is meeting me at Rach and Paul's place for dinner. Jake's making dinner for you two as soon as he gets home, however he's got to meet dad at the council building for a meeting after they close up the shop." Lilly nodded in understanding. Jake often had meetings with Billy because he was working on taking his father's place as Chief of the Tribe, and alongside that him, Embry, and Quil had opened their own car shop in 2011 after they graduated college. Most of the senior pack members had become council members so the older generation could retire.

Becca's smile turned into one of amusement, "Also, he mentioned Quil had to leave work early today because Ashley got sick at Emily's and Claire couldn't get off work."

"Aw." Lilly pouted a bit as she packed up the last of her things and Becca lifted Everly out of the playpen.

Quil and Claire had started dating during the summer of 2007, after he told her everything about the pack and imprinting. Claire adored the idea because she'd had a huge crush on Quil since she met him. Quil, like Jake, Lilly, and Embry, had graduated high school in 2008, and then Claire graduated two years later. Quil had taken Claire out after her graduation party and proposed, resulting in them getting married in 2011. Several of the pack guys, especially Sam, thought Claire was much too young to be getting married, but she still had a bit of a rebellious teenage streak, so there was no talking her out of it. Claire had still gone to college and graduated in 2014 at the top of her class. Nine months later, in February of 2015, their daughter Ashley was born. She was spoiled rotten by both sets of grandparents, and she was daddy's little princess. And after a serious discussion with Claire, Quil had decided he wanted to stop phasing, but he had just started working on that, so it would probably take another year or so.

Lilly lead Rebecca out to the front of the store carrying her bag, while Becca carried her own bag and her daughter. Lilly stood by the light switch and looked at the clock, counting down, "Three, two, one." she flipped off the 'open' sign switch, "And we're out!"

Becca laughed at how silly she was as they walked out the front door. Lilly locked the door. They found Lilly's car, which she and Jake bought a few years back when the Rabbit finally kicked the bucket, and Lilly got in the driver's seat while Rebecca set Everly up in the baby seat in the back and then took the front passenger seat. Since the drive was semi long and they usually worked the same shift anyway, they usually carpooled and just took turns driving.

"So, on my lunch break I got a call from Leah and had to console her and assure her she's not fat and ugly." Becca announced flippantly as Lilly drove through Port Angeles in the direction of home.

Lilly tried not to laugh, but it was just so sweet how the usually confident Leah got all sappy and self-conscious when she was pregnant.

Leah and Kaden had moved in together several months after she told him about the wolf stuff, and then Leah stopped phasing in time for them to get married in 2009. Leah had also gotten her Nursing degree by 2011, since she'd been taking classes since all the vampire drama had calmed down. She'd also been overjoyed to get her period back after she stopped phasing, which eventually resulted in their daughter Brook being born in 2013, their son Colby in 2015, and now a big whoopsie pregnancy. And of course, Leah couldn't even guess what she was having because she hadn't been nearly as emotional or sick the first two times as she was this time. As with every pregnancy, however, most of the pack had running bets on what it was.

Lilly and Becca talked and sang along with the radio until about halfway home Becca went quiet and shifted a bit in her seat. Then, she grimaced.

"Ugh. Do you think we can make a pit stop somewhere with a restroom? I think I _just_ got my period." she grumbled.

Lilly's quick response faltered a bit when she registered Rebecca's question. "Um, yeah sure. I think there's a grocery store just up here."

Rebecca noticed the change in her sister-in-law's demeanor. "You okay?"

Lilly was silent for a moment before asking, "What's the date?"

"Um, the 22nd. Why?"

Lilly thought for a little bit before answering, "I should've got my period over a week ago. And I don't remember the last time I had my period."

Becca's eyes went wide. "You think you might be…?"

Lilly shrugged. "Well,…we've been trying for a few months now." she admitted.

"What?!" Becca shouted, turning in her seat to look at Lilly better. "Why wasn't I informed of this?" she demanded.

Lilly rolled her eyes at her. "Because we didn't want to make a big deal about it. And technically, we're not really trying. We're just not…"

"Using protection." Becca finished with a smirk.

"Yeah."

"Well, some grocery stores sell pregnancy tests. While I'm going to the bathroom, you can look for a test to buy. Do you want to have Everly with you, or should I take her into the bathroom with me?"

"It's up to you. I can hold her if you want, unless she gets a dirty diaper before we get there." Lilly decided with a shrug.

They pulled into a small grocery store parking lot a few minutes later, and since Everly hadn't had an accident in her diaper Lilly agreed to carry her niece with her while she looked for a pregnancy test to buy. She just hoped people didn't look at her funny, a young woman with a one year old looking for pregnancy tests.

With the young girl on her hip, Lilly searched the signs above the aisles until she found the one with condoms, pads, tampons, pregnancy stuff, and, of course, pregnancy tests.

She searched the several different brands, unsure which one to pick. She should've asked Rebecca what kind she used when she found out she was pregnant. Warm air hitting her cheek make Lilly look down to see Everly sleepily leaning her cheek on her shoulder.

A smile split Lilly's face. She couldn't wait to have Jake's children.

A few minutes later, Rebecca found them and asked if she'd found one.

"I have no idea which kind to pick." Lilly admitted helplessly.

Rebecca scanned the shelves before grabbing a mostly-pink box. "This one worked good for me, and it comes with 2 tests just in case."

Lilly shrugged. "Alright. I'll buy that one."

She handed Everly back to her mom before taking the box from Becca and leading the way back toward the registers.

They quickly paid and got back on the road so they could still get home at a decent enough time. They passed the La Push Welcome sign at just before 6:30 and Lilly arrived at Rachel and Paul's house in a matter of minutes, parking right in front of it.

Lilly got out just as Embry came hurrying out with Rachel following at a slower pace. Rebecca climbed out and greeted Embry with a sweet kiss before he opened the back door to get Everly from her seat. The little girl squealed and wrapped her little arms around her daddy's neck as soon as she could, causing Embry to smile and kiss her forehead.

He handed Everly over to Rebecca quick so he could get the car seat out while Lilly greeted Rachel with a hug, even though they saw each other the day before.

"I'd invite you in for dinner, but I know Jake is currently at home cooking dinner for you." Rachel admitted with a grin.

"Yeah, I should probably get home before dinner gets cold or something." Lilly agreed as Embry resurfaced from the car with the car seat in his hand. "You guys have a good night, I'll see most of you in the morning. Say 'hi' to Paul, Tanner, and Braelyn for me, Rach." she requested, referring to the couple's children; Tanner, who was 4, and Braelyn, who was 2.

The others waved as she got back in the car and made the short drive a couple streets over to the small house she shared with her husband, which they had moved into right after they married in 2011.

She pulled the car into the driveway before getting out with her purse and the plastic grocery bag. She walked around the house and entered through the front door.

"I'm home!" she called, even though she was sure Jake had heard her car pull into the driveway. Jake was one of the few pack members that were still phasing; the others being Seth, Collin, and Brady.

"How was work?" Jake called from the kitchen.

Lilly kicked her shoes off and dropped her things by the door before heading for the kitchen.

"Pretty good. Got an order in earlier so we'll have to put that away in the morning, and I'm working on a new sketch of the cliffs." she answered as she stopped in the doorway between the kitchen and living room. Jake had been heading toward her and stopped just in front of her. His hands landed on her hips and he pulled her closer to give her a 'welcome home' kiss.

"Sounds like fun. Dinner should be ready in about ten minutes. We can sit on the couch and wait if you want." Jake offered.

"Actually…" Lilly looked up at him. "could…do you think you could…?"

Jake eyed her for a moment before taking her hands in both of his. "Sweetie, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. It's good, it's just…" Finally, Lilly took a deep breath and stated, "I bought a pregnancy test on the way home. I'd noticed I missed my period and I just thought…" she gave a shrug and looked hopefully up at Jake.

His eyes were mildly wide as he looked down at her, switching from her eyes to her still-flat belly. "You think you could-"

"I'm not positive. That's why I bought the tests. I was going to go to the bathroom to take them, but…do you think you could be with me when I read the results?"

"As if I would stay away." Jake grinned.

Lilly smiled in relief, leaning up on her tiptoes to quickly kiss Jake on the lips before hurrying to grab the box of tests and then hurrying down the hall to the bathroom. She read the instructions and took out one test. She sat on the toilet and peed on the stick like instructed, ignoring the fact that Jake was standing in the bathroom doorway watching her.

She set the test face-down on the sink and washed her hands, checking the wolf-themed clock on the wall down the hall.

"It says we have to wait three minutes before checking the results." she explained, turning and leaning back against the sink and looking up at Jake, partially so she wasn't tempted to turn and check the test every few seconds.

"And how do we read the results? If it's a plus, you're pregnant?" Jake guessed.

Lilly picked up the box and answered, "Actually, if there's two pink lines, I'm pregnant, even if one of them is faint, if there's only one pink line I'm not pregnant."

Jake nodded, taking a deep breath through his nose and trying to calm himself down. If he was being honest with himself, he'd noticed Lilly's scent had seemed off for weeks now, but he'd never said anything. Thinking of it now, he didn't want to get his hopes up. He really wanted her to be pregnant. He wanted to have a family with her. The whole pack except for Seth, Collin, and Brady had kids; including both his best friends and his sisters. Honestly, they could've started having kids years ago, like after they graduated college in 2010, but they'd both been working on starting their own businesses, and he was still Alpha and was going to be the Chief soon.

"Has it been three minutes yet?" Jake asked after what felt like forever.

Lilly actually laughed. "Jake, it hasn't even been _one_ minute!"

"Oh." he looked down and smiled in embarrassment.

Lilly smiled affectionately at him before placing the box back on the sink and stepping forward to wrap her arms around his midsection. Jake instantly wrapped his big arms around her, too, to hold her close to him. She rested her chin on his chest, looking up at him.

"Are you nervous?" she asked quietly.

Jake smiled. "A little bit, but I'm also really excited. I can't wait to be a dad."

"And you really think I'd be a good mom?" she checked worriedly.

"Of course you'll be a great mom!" Jake laughed, as if the very idea that she'd be a bad mom was ridiculous. "Have you seen yourself with the rest of the pack kids? I swear, ever since Summer was born, every time you held one of the babies I got all hot and bothered thinking about you having our kids someday."

Lilly laughed, shaking her head and burying her face in his chest. "That doesn't really say anything about my ability to be a good mom, it just says you have strange fetishes." she teased.

Jake shrugged one shoulder. "Fair enough. But you really are good with kids. If you weren't, I doubt most of them would get all excited when 'Auntie Lilly' comes over."

Lilly smiled, figuring he had a point. "I suppose." she suddenly frowned, "You don't really think I'll be the one to have twins, do you?" she asked worriedly, remembering that night all those years ago after Claire's birthday party when Emily announced she was pregnant. Back then, Jake had teased her, saying that he would be more likely than his sisters to have twins if they followed their aunts' and great aunts' pattern. And so far, Rebecca claimed to be done, and she hadn't had any twins, and Rachel hadn't had any yet, and no one knew if they wanted anymore kids.

Jake laughed loudly, throwing his head back before looking back down at her. "I highly doubt it, but you never know. Either way, whether we have one kid or two, I'm going to love them."

Lilly relaxed, giving him another smile. "Me too."

Jake smiled before looking over his shoulder at the clock. "It's been three minutes now, right?" he asked hopefully.

Lilly leaned to the side to see around his shoulder and, sure enough, it had been just over three minutes since she peed.

"Yep."

She turned and approached the sink, feeling Jake come up behind her.

"Okay. Two lines is pregnant. One isn't." she whispered, more to herself even though she was sure Jake heard her. When he squeezed her hip in his big hand she knew he was reassuring her.

She carefully picked up the pregnancy test and flipped it over to show the results. Her eyes traveled to the small circular section where the results would be…

And found two solid pink lines.

Jake's arms slipped around her waist, hugging her from behind as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "We're having a baby." he whispered happily in her ear, one hand moving to rest on her belly.

Lilly's free hand moved to rest on top of his, over where their child was growing inside of her. She tilted her head down and stared at their hands resting over her flat belly, noting that it wouldn't be that way for long.

"I'm pregnant." she whispered in awe, tears stinging her eyes.

Jake's arms tightened carefully around her, one arm moving up to cross over her chest. "I love you." he murmured thickly, briefly kissing the mark he'd left on the left side of her neck about a decade ago. "I love you so much, Flower, and I already love our child."

Lilly turned in his arms and buried her face in his chest, wrapping her own arms around his lower back. "I love you, too." She pulled back just enough to rock up on her toes and give Jake a firm kiss, which he returned eagerly, his hand coming up to thread his fingers through her hair.

When they pulled back, Jake put his forehead against hers and looked down into her eyes. "We'll have to set up a doctors appointment. And eventually tell everyone."

"Becca already suspects I am, she was with me when I bought the test. And we'll worry about all that later. Right now, I'm starving, and I just want to have an evening with you all to myself."

Jake smiled widely and nodded against her forehead. "That can be arranged." he responded, holding both of her hands in his at their sides. His thumb was tracing lightly over her burn scar on her wrist. The vampire's bite mark was still there, a couple degrees cooler than the rest of her skin, but mostly concealed by the scar tissue surrounding it. "I love you."

XXX

"I hate you." Lilly grumbled mutinously as she lay in the hospital bed seven months later, her thick, black hair drenched in sweat and stuck to her face.

Jake grimaced from his seat next to her, holding one of her hands in both of his. "Sorry, sweetie." he apologized obediently. He'd learned about seven hours ago to just take her yelling instead of pointing out that creating a child takes two people.

"You jinxed it." she continued, her eyes half-closed.

"It's not like I told my sperm to split your egg into two and create two babies." Jake pointed out, trying not to grin.

After two months of tender breasts, eight months of peeing every hour, five months of strange food cravings, three months of an annoyingly-increased sex drive, 3 months of morning sickness, gaining 40 pounds, and having 14 checkups and two ultrasounds; Lilly had given birth to twin girls. Since her third month in, when they found out; Jake, Rachel, and Rebecca hadn't let her live it down.

Lilly tried not to smile, but she couldn't help it. Her husband's smile was contagious. "You're so arrogant." she laughed tiredly.

"I am not." Jake argued, pretending to be insulted.

"Mr. and Mrs. Black. Would you like to meet your daughters?" one of the nurses asked, holding one bundle in her arms. Another nurse behind her was holding a second bundle.

Lilly instantly perked up, but her arms felt like jell-o when she tried to sit up. Jake helped her into a sitting position and then turned back to nod to the nurses.

The one in front gently placed the baby in Lilly's arms. "This one was born first."

Lilly smiled tearfully as she looked down at the tiny baby in her arms. She had chubby cheeks and big, brown eyes just like her daddy.

"And here's her younger sister." the next nurse announced quietly before placing the baby carefully in Jake's arms. Lilly finally tore her eyes away from her own bundle to see Jake with their other daughter. He was smiling widely at the tiny baby, one of his fingers tickling her cheek. Feeling Lilly's eyes on him, Jake looked up at her and smiled, his own eyes glistening.

"They're perfect." he whispered.

Lilly nodded, looking down at the baby Jake was holding, seeing that the twins certainly looked identical. They would probably have to color code everything and be careful not to mix the babies up.

"You have quite a few people in the waiting room for you. Would you like us to send a few in?" the nurse asked.

"That be great. Thanks." Jake answered.

Abby and Billy were the first to greet the tiny babies, soon followed by Jake's sisters and their husbands.

"Glad it was you and not me." Rachel smirked at Lilly as she looked down at the younger twin in Lilly's lap, since Lilly had switched with Jake so she could hold her other daughter, too.

"Careful Rach," Rebecca smirked at her own twin as she took the baby Jake was holding, "wouldn't want to jinx yourself."

Rachel stuck her tongue out at her sister, putting a hand over her nearly-invisible bump. Paul moved to stand next to his wife and put his arm around her waist, getting a closer look at one of his newest nieces.

"Most everyone else cleared out already." Embry announced, standing next to Rebecca and running his fingers over the downy, black hair of the baby she was holding, "They all say congratulations and remember to go to Sam and Emily's tomorrow afternoon for the party."

"What party?" Jake asked, though he had an idea.

"The party to celebrate two new members of the pack, obviously." Paul answered, gesturing to the baby in Lilly's arms.

"So, come on, what are their names?" Rebecca demanded, finally getting tired of not knowing the name of the niece in her arms.

Jake glanced at Lilly and she nodded to him, silently telling him to announce the names. Jake grinned and turned back to his family.

He nodded to the older twin in Rebecca's arms. "That's Makayla Judith Black," he jerked his thumb at the baby his wife was holding, "and that's Mackenzie Abigail Black."

Abby got teary-eyed as she looked at her granddaughter and great-granddaughter. Mackenzie's middle name was obviously in honor of Lilly's grandma, and Makayla's middle name was in honor of Jake's grandma, Billy's mom.

"Makayla and Mackenzie." Rebecca murmured thoughtfully. "That's cute."

"Lilly wanted to do the whole twin-naming thing, but I put my foot down on having rhyming names, or ones like April and May, or Summer and Autumn, or Faith and Hope. Those are just way too cheesy and overdone."

"April and May?" Paul smirked down at Lilly, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Shut up. I was just throwing ideas around, I probably wouldn't have ever gone with that one." Lilly retorted, sticking her tongue out at him.

Eventually, everyone cleared out, allowing the new parents to get to know their children. Jake and Lilly worked together to feed, burp, and change the twins, though obviously Lilly had to do the actual feeding part herself. Finally, Makayla went down easily in the hospital bassinet, so Jake told Lilly to go to sleep while he rocked Mackenzie.

Lilly argued for a bit, but eventually gave in and was asleep within a minute. Jake sat in the rocking chair, one eye on Makayla sleeping peacefully all bundled up in a blanket, while he rocked Mackenzie in his arms. He looked down at his daughter, who was slowly growing sleepier and sleepier as he swayed the chair.

"I love you two already, more than I ever thought possible." Jake whispered, his eyes fixed on hers. "I promise, I will always love and protect you, and so will my pack, even long after we all stop being Protectors."

When they found out Lilly was pregnant, Jake and his wife had sat down and discussed the possibility of him no longer being a wolf. As much as Lilly loved that part of him, she also understood that he would never age so long as he phased, and he truly wanted to live a normal life with his family. While his life would never be completely normal, he at least wanted to be human again. He would miss the wolf side, especially since it was that part of him that brought him and Lilly together, but he wanted to settle down with his family. He had started slowing down, but he wanted it to be a gradual change. He would probably be done in a year or two.

He wasn't the only one who wanted to stop. Seth had imprinted a few months back on a girl a year older than him and wanted to stop phasing so they could grow together. Collin was dating a girl, and wanted to stop phasing eventually, but Brady was enjoying life and would probably stop phasing in a few years.

A quiet sigh drew Jake's dazed attention from his daughter, who had finally dozed off, to his sleeping wife in the hospital bed.

Lilly was lying on her side, facing him. Her face was relaxed and a soft smile graced her lips. Her messy, thick hair was pulled into a braid earlier, so it was out of her way. And in plain view on her neck, was the mark he placed there about 11 years ago. Jake couldn't help smiling seeing that mark displayed proudly on her skin.

They had both been through a lot in their 27 years of life, losing loved ones and suffering traumatic experiences, being introduced to the supernatural world. It would've been so much more difficult and painful for the both of them alone. She probably would've forever remained silent, and he would've gone through life a bitter shell of himself. But one glance was all it took, one moment that brought them together. And now they could live out their lives happy, surrounded by their family, as one unit. Her Wolf and his Flower.

 _ **The End**_

 **XXX**

 **Wow, I can't believe this story is actually over. It feels like forever ago that I started writing** _ **Silence of the Flower**_ **, even though it was only about 7 months, and now it's all done. (I was originally going to end the Epilogue with Jake and Lilly finding out they're pregnant, but I kinda wanted to add in them actually having the kids.)**

 **Sadly, I won't be writing a third installment, however you never know when inspiration will strike. To answer a couple questions, I'm not sure if I'll write another** _ **Twilight**_ **story, however I'm currently working on a** _ **Harry Potter**_ **story with the Weasley twins, though I'm not sure when, or if, I'll actually post it.**

 **Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed this story. Many of those reviews are what kept me writing, even when I struggled with it. I wish you all a good, happy life, and if you're interested, you can always check out some of my other stories.**

 **Thanks again!**


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